THE  CASTLE 
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THE  CASTLE  BY  THE  SEA 


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Toosey  hailed  it,  and  was  answered  back 

[See  page  231]  Frontispiece 


THE  CASTLE  BY 
THE  SEA 


By  H.  B.  MARRIOTT  WATSON 


Author  of  "Hurricane  Island,"  The  Privateers/'  etc. 

1 


With  Illustrations 
By  HERRMAN  PFEIFER 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY 
Publishers  New  York 


Copyright,  1909, 
By  H.  B.  Marriott  Watson". 


All  rights  reserved 


Published  September,  1909 


\ 


To 

J.  B.  PINKER 

WITH  THE  MEMORIES  OF  EIGHTEEN  YEARS' 
FRIENDSHIP 

FROM 

H.  B.  MARRIOTT  WATSON 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.  The  Book  in  the  Gallery   1 

II.  Perdita   17 

III.  The  Death  Watch   35 

IV.  The  Goddess  in  the  Car   47 

V.  The  Council  of  Perfection   61 

VI.  To  be  Sung  on  the  Waters    .    •    .    .  82 

VII.  The  Alarm   95 

VIII.  On  the  Trail   110 

IX.  Entrance  of  a  Man  of  the  World.    .  128 

X.  The  Butcher  Boy   141 

XI.  In  My  Lady's  Chamber   162 

XIL  The  Leaguer   164 

XIII.  The  Window  Seat   178 

XIV.  Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  .    .    .    .  193 
XV.  The  Empty  Boat   209 

XVI.  '^N  A  Deep  Sea  like  Death''     ...  222 


vi  Contents 

Chapter  Page 

XVII.  The  Havana  Cigar   233 

XVIII.  The  Secret  of  the  Caves     ....  245 

XIX.  The  Labyrinth   259 

XX.  The  Tide   273 

XXI.  Love  in  Death   283 

XXII.  The  Cipher  •    •    .    .  301 


THE 

CASTLE  BY  THE  SEA 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  BOOK  IN  THE  GALLERY 

IT  was  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth  of  May,  just  before 
the  day  had  fully  declined  into  twilight,  that  I  got 
my  first  sight  of  Norroy  Castle.  I  had  taken  a  fly 
at  the  distant  station  of  Arncombe,  and,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  friendly  driver's  gossip,  had  rattled 
along  the  country  roads  and  down  the  little  inlet  for  a 
few  miles  to  Southington,  when  we  made  almost  a  full 
right  wheel  and  began  to  climb  the  hill.  At  this  stage, 
owing  to  the  lessening  of  the  clatter  and  the  dwindling 
of  the  noise  of  the  water,  my  man  and  I  got  on  terms  of 
even  closer  intimacy.  He  leaned  back  to  explain  to  me 
points  of  the  scenery,  and  to  indicate  features  of  inter- 
est, as  he  was  no  doubt  wont  to  do  to  tourists.  I  was 
not  a  tourist,  but  I  certainly  had  the  neighborhood  as 
much  at  heart  as  any  bird  of  passage.  It  was  to  be  my 
environment  for  some  three  months;  and  I  stood  up 
occasionally  and  looked  about  me. 

We  were  rising  slowly  but  surely  now,  and  below, 
the  darlding  inlet  had  become  a  romantic  channel  of 
fancies  to  my  mind.  I  was  glad  I  had  taken  Norroy 
Castle;  glad,  too,  I  had  taken  it  on  trust;  for  this  was 
my  inaugural  visit,  and  I  had,  so  to  say,  bought  a  pig 
in  a  poke.   However,  it  was  only  for  the  summer,  and 

1 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


already  I  was  enchanted  by  my  indiscretion.  Indis- 
cretion !  I  thought,  and  laughed.  Why,  it  was  only  so 
that  Romance  got  her  chance ;  it  was  dull  reason  that 
went  jog-trot  through  a  humdrum  life.  As  well  be 
chained  to  a  desk,  as  well  keep  your  stall  in  the  Augean 
stable  of  full  cities,  as  well  — 

My  mind,  poising  on  the  wings  of  this  fine  welcome, 
had  got  thus  far,  when  the  driver's  voice  broke  upon  its 
raptures. 

"Sir  Gilbert  —  he  hasn't  been  down  here  since  he 
was  a  boy ;  has  n't  been  here  since  he  came  in  for  the 
title.  Can't  abide  it,  they  say.  It 's  dull  for  him, 
maybe,  after  London." 

I  think  he  was  still  speculating  in  his  slow  mind  if  I 
were  a  tourist;  yet  my  luggage  (for  I  had  brought  a 
few  small  bags  with  me)  must  have  puzzled  him.  I 
had  no  doubt  that  he  wondered  if  the  gentleman  were 
on  a  visit  to  the  housekeeper. 

I  made  no  answer,  thus  brought  down  to  mere  fact ; 
and  he  continued,  "'Ere 's  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  the 
gate." 

I  stood  up  again,  and,  as  the  carriage  crawled  up  the 
last  steps  of  the  ascent,  looked  back  once  more.  The 
estuary  wavered  in  twilight,  from  Amcombe,  which  was 
hidden  by  the  curving  shores,  to  the  hamlet  at  the  foot 
of  the  water.  Only  the  roofs  of  Southington  village,  a 
couple  of  miles  below  us,  witnessed  to  human  habita- 
tion. And  then  my  eyes  went  seaward  —  ah,  in  a 
vast  surprise. 

The  prospect  took  my  breath.  I  had  been  gazing 
backward  and  downward  upon  prettiness,  the  narrow 
winding  waters,  the  wooded  shores,  the  comely,  crowded 
picture  of  the  English  landscape.  Now  my  vision  fared 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery 


forward  and  outward.  The  waters  of  the  Channel 
roared  out  yonder;  the  wind  came  off  it  with  a  savor 
like  strong  wine ;  the  sparkle  sprang  in  my  eyes,  in  my 
face,  in  my  heart.  This  was  Norroy  Castle;  this  was 
my  home.  And  here  was  I,  trundling  along  in  a  ragged 
old  cab,  like  that  visitor  to  the  housekeeper.  The  scene 
gave  me  heart ;  it  inspired  me.  If  I  were  to  write  any- 
where I  could  write  here,  within  sound  and  smell  of 
that  fragrant-blown  sea.  Oh,  it  was  worth  living  for, 
that  early  May  evening,  with  the  lights  fading  in  heaven, 
and  the  darkling  estuary,  and  the  kindling  water  of  the 
Channel.  I  drew  in  my  breath  and  gave  thanks. 
What  a  fool  was  this  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  who  had 
visited  so  glorious  a  place  only  a  few  times  since  boy- 
hood !  What  a  barbarian !  What  a  Goth !  I  cried  in 
my  heart,  and  as  I  did  so  my  eyes  were  arrested  by  a 
man  who  was  watching  me  from  a  little  distance. 

He  was  a  good-looking  fellow,  dressed  rather  scrupu- 
lously in  a  costume  of  the  tourist  order,  which  concluded 
most  decorously  with  a  Homburg  hat;  and  he  was 
smoking  a  cigar. 

"These  be  the  gates,  sir,"  remarked  my  affable 
driver  again.  It  was  before  the  gates  that  the  stranger 
was  standing,  and  his  face  caught  my  curious  gaze 
even  before  I  regarded  the  threshold  of  my  new  domain. 
It  was  a  handsome  face,  as  I  have  said,  the  moustache 
silky  and  drooping,  the  eyes  soft  and  languid,  the  w^hite 
countenance  characterized  by  something  almost  effemi- 
nate. His  manners  were  good,  for  his  gaze  dwelled  on 
me  and  went  by  in  the  fashion  of  good-breeding. 

"One  of  them  visitors  at  Southington,  sir,"  com- 
mented my  driver,  as  we  rolled  through  the  gateway 
into  the  gravelled  track.   I  paid  no  heed,  for  I  was  oc- 


4 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


cupied  now  with  the  park.  What  were  all  the  strangers 
of  Christendom  to  me  beside  my  park  ? 

The  drive  trailed  in  a  pleasant  old-fashioned  sweep 
through  limes  of  immemorial  age,  and  entered,  after  a 
brief  but  glorious  career  of  this  kind,  a  shrubbery  of 
rhododendrons  in  full  bud,  of  laurels,  of  fragrant 
syringas,  and  of  opening  lilac.  The  cloud  of  shrubbery 
made  a  little  darkness  of  the  twilight;  and  then  we 
came  out  into  the  open  again,  where  the  sward,  studded 
with  trees,  led  down  towards  the  sea.  And  here  was  my 
second  stranger,  —  but  this  time  of  quite  another  char- 
acter. It  was  a  slim,  tall  girl,  of  an  exquisite  promise 
of  ripeness,  but  of  years  too  early  for  that  maturity 
which  should  some  day  be  her  glory.  She  was  wan- 
dering upon  the  sward,  and,  like  the  stranger  at  the 
gates,  cast  on  me  a  glance,  well-bred  like  his,  but  of  a 
delicacy  and  shyness  that  was  eloquent  of  her  sex.  I 
had  the  rudeness  to  turn  in  my  seat  and  watch  her 
after  we  had  passed,  until  I  lost  the  last  glimpse  of  her 
slender  white  figure  vanishing  into  the  shrubbery. 

Once  more  my  domain  claimed  my  attention,  and 
now  with  louder  voice ;  for  we  were  drawing  up  to  the 
Castle. 

Norroy  Castle  was  a  small  building,  of  considerable 
antiquity,  and  of  admirable  repair.  The  ravages  of 
time  and  conquest  were  not  visible  on  its  seemly  face, 
which  was  presented  to  the  brawling  sea  that  lay  only 
a  few  hundred  yards  away.  The  garden  declined 
towards  this  with  flower  beds  and  shrubberies,  and  in- 
terspersed lawns  and  walks ;  but  I  could  not  discern  in 
the  twilight  in  what  style  they  had  been  kept.  Beyond, 
the  sea  stormed  at  the  pale  in  which  this  castle  stood, 
but  the  slow  slopes  went  down  to  it  in  tranquil  greenery. 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery  5 


Upon  the  further  side,  as  far  as  I  could  make  out,  there 
was  a  rise  in  the  grounds,  and  sea-fowl  screamed  in  the 
air  above  low  cliffs.  I  had  entered  into  my  kingdom, 
and  pronounced  it  good.  I  was  now  to  enter  also  into 
the  Castle  itself. 

The  oaken  door,  giving  upon  the  gravel,  was  opened 
by  a  stolid  man  of  middle  age  in  the  conventional  dress 
of  a  butler.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  stared  and  stood 
for  an  unnecessarily  long  time  ere  he  spoke. 

"Mr.  Brabazon,  sir,"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  and  you  are  Jackman.?'"  I  returned,  for  that 
was  the  name  of  the  housekeeper  I  had  received  from 
the  solicitors. 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  said  formally,  and  stepping  briskly 
over  the  threshold,  set  to  work  on  my  packages. 

I  entered,  after  paying  the  fly-man,  and  found  myself 
in  a  hall  of  fair  size,  lighted  with  a  swinging  lamp  of 
cathedral  glass,  which  revealed,  out  of  the  circumjacent 
darkness,  a  gallery  above  my  head.  Here  a  woman's 
voice  greeted  me,  and  I  assumed  the  owner  to  be  Mrs. 
Jackman.  "We  did  not  expect  you  till  to-morrow,  sir," 
she  said,  with  some  timidity  of  manner. 

"I  changed  my  mind,"  I  explained.  "Did  my  boxes 
come.^^" 

"Yes,  sir;  this  morning,"  she  answered,  and  bustled 
away  on  some  feminine  errand,  maybe  connected  with 
;  cooking. 

I  was  waiting  on  my  friend,  Jackman,  who  now  ap- 
peared with  his  hands  full  of  my  small  kits,  but  in- 
stinctively I  turned  to  follow  the  woman. 

"Not  that  way,  sir,"  said  the  butler  hastily,  almost 
blocking  my  path  in  his  anxiety  lest  I  should  go  wrong. 
"It  goes  to  the  kitchen  apartments,  sir,"  he  explained 


6  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


deferentially.  I  waited  till  he  indicated  the  door  which 
I  was  permitted  to  pass,  and  then  entered.  It  was  a 
small  room,  brightly  lighted,  and  a  wood  fire  burned  in 
the  open  grate.  I  had  a  sense  of  a  smell  of  tobacco, 
and  tobacco  none  too  fragrant  at  that ;  and  I  concluded 
that  Mr.  Jackman  had  been  caught  unawares  by  my 
inopportune  arrival.  But  I  had  made  up  my  mind. 
This  room  was  for  me. 

It  was  lightly  furnished,  and  the  corners  were  squared 
off  on  two  sides,  so  as  to  give  an  irregular  shape  to  it. 
The  window,  which  was  mullioned,  looked  on  a  little 
sward  of  its  own  betwixt  projecting  buttresses  of  the 
building,  and  thence  across  the  gravel  drive  to  the  more 
spacious  lawn  beyond.  Night  by  this  time  had  swal- 
lowed the  garden  and  the  woods,  but  out  of  that  deep- 
ening darkness  the  fret  of  the  ocean  beat  upon  my  ears 
quite  pleasantly. 

''This  is  where  I  should  like  my  meals,  Jackman," 
I  said  to  the  waiting  butler. 

"Certainly,  sir,"  said  he,  after  a  momentary  pause, 
and  again  there  was  a  pause  before  he  went  on.  "Mrs. 
Jackman  prepared  the  west  wing  rooms,  sir,  in  case 
you  should  want  them." 

"Weil,  I  '11  have  a  look  round,"  I  said  amiably. 
"Meanwhile  this  will  do  very  well.  What 's  off  that 
way?" 

"There 's  a  morning-room  giving  to  the  garden,  sir," 
said  he,  "and  the  old  staircase  to  the  first  floor." 

"And  my  bedroom?"  I  inquired. 

"Mrs.  Jackman  prepared  the  west  wing  rooms, 
sir,"  he  repeated  respectfully.  "I  thought  you  might 
like  them  all  handy.  They  're  on  the  ground  floor 
together." 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery  7 


"Very  well,"  I  assented.  "I 've  no  doubt  they  will 
suit  me,"  and  so  dismissed  him  to  his  duties. 

The  long  day  in  the  air  had  made  me  agreeably  tired, 
and  I  was  hungry,  so  that  after  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions I  was  glad  to  sup  and  rest.  I  took  some  pleasure 
in  exploring  the  route  to  my  bedroom,  which  I  did 
under  Jackman's  guidance,  and  by  the  light  of  two 
candles.  We  passed  through  a  lofty  room  with  covered 
furniture,  into  a  short  passage,  and  thence  into  a  fine 
large  chamber  which  fronted  the  west,  and  which,  I 
gathered,  was  designed  for  my  use  as  a  drawing-room. 
Close  to  it  was  my  bedroom,  rather  too  large  and  rather 
too  lofty,  and,  I  thought,  rather  too  cold.  But  as  I 
changed  into  other  clothes,  I  was  aware  that  there  were 
delightful  possibilities  in  its  dignity,  if  not  in  its 
prospect. 

As  I  was  finishing  my  toilet,  I  heard  a  step  on  the 
stone  passage  without,  which  at  first  I  took  to  be  Jack- 
man's;  but  it  passed  and  died  away  and  I  heard  no 
more  of  it.  Yet,  as  I  opened  the  door  to  return,  the 
sound  of  a  creaking  above  reached  me.  The  wind 
darted  down  the  cold  alley  of  stone  and  sent  my  flame 
guttering;  and,  shading  it  with  my  open  palm,  I 
picked  my  way  back  through  the  silent  chambers  to  my 
cosy  dining-room.  Here  I  forgot  everything  save  the 
satisfaction  of  my  appetite. 

The  fire  burned  cheerfully,  and  a  late  spring  wind 
snapped  about  the  muUions.  Mrs.  Jackman,  a  thin, 
bright-eyed  woman,  entered  in  order  to  make  my  ac- 
quaintance, I  am  sure.  She  professed  herself  anxious 
to  learn  if  I  were  comfortable,  and,  speaking  with  a  soft 
country  burr,  hoped  I  should  "like  myself."  Not  so,  I 
was  certain,  would  the  immaculate,  armor-plated  Jack- 


8 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


man  speak.  Mrs.  Jackman  made  an  approach  to  con- 
versing; Jackman  could  only  answer.  But  it  was  the 
woman's  opportunity,  and  she  made  the  most  of  it.  I 
learned,  among  other  things,  that  she  rejoiced  Sir  Gil- 
bert had  let  at  last ;  that  the  house  had  not  been  kept 
up  for  years,  not  since  Sir  Edmund  died;  that  Sir 
Gilbert  had  been  a  stranger  to  it  since  he  was  a  boy; 
that  Jackman  and  she  had  lived  in  London  a  good 
deal  in  Sir  Gilbert's  service;  and  that  Sir  Gilbert  was 
twenty-nine  and  unmarried.  I  gathered  on  the  way 
through  this  that  any  princess  would  be  fortunate 
if  she  should  be  chosen  by  Sir  Gilbert.  It  was  alto- 
gether a  pretty  exhibition  of  the  feudal  temper. 

When  she  retired,  my  thoughts  went  to  the  bag  in 
which  I  had  stowed  some  favorite  books,  and  I  opened 
it.  A  flagon  of  whiskey  was  on  the  table,  my  pipe  was 
at  my  elbow,  and  I  had  a  choice  volume  to  hand.  I 
was  exceedingly  peaceful,  but  somehow  I  did  not  read. 
Migration  is  unsettling  to  the  mind,  which  settles 
down  with  reluctance  after  the  disturbance  of  its  roots. 
A  mass  of  papers,  inserted  at  the  last  moment  in  this 
particular  bag,  turned  itself  out  on  the  carpet,  and  an 
illustrated  weekly  took  my  eye.  It  was  one  of  an 
earlier  date,  which  had  furnished  my  introduction  to 
Norroy  Castle.  With  some  curiosity,  after  the  accom- 
plished fact,  I  found  the  advertisement  —  of  "an  old 
castle  to  let  furnished  for  the  summer  months." 

I  wondered  now  why  I  had  been  induced  to  write. 
Such  lures  by  agents  are  none  too  uncommon.  Any- 
way, I  was  here,  and  in  possession.  Perhaps  it  had 
been  the  notion  of  the  environing  sea,  or  of  the  quie- 
tude; or  was  it  the  transient  flash  of  some  romantic 
feeling  ?    At  least  the  place  promised  well  for  my  writ- 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery 


9 


ing,  and  if  I  could  not  finish  my  "Studies  in  Earth 
in  this  retreat,  they  would  probably  forever  remain  a 
beautiful  dream. 

Do  you  know  that  officialism  of  business?  How  it 
wearies,  aggravates,  and  incenses  the  ordinary  decent 
man?  "Yours  of  the  3rd  ult.  .  .  "Your  esteemed 
order.  .  .  "Our  best  services.  .  .  Well,  I  was  as- 
sured that  I  should  find  the  house  in  every  way  commo- 
dious and  desirable.  But  what  maggot  was  in  the  red 
head  of  the  clerk  who  ought  to  have  known  better, 
when  he  hinted  about  the  ghost  ?  Perhaps  under  that 
rigid  exterior  he  had  a  soul,  some  imagination,  or  a 
sense  of  humor.  Perhaps  it  was  even  a  shrewd  and 
oily  attempt  to  clinch  a  "deal,"  and  he  had  read  some- 
thing in  my  eyes.  They  are  the  eyes  of  thirty  something, 
but  I  pray  they  are  yet  romantic.  Anyway,  the  ghost 
emerged  from  the  shadows  and  exhibited  itself  mo- 
mentarily in  the  garish  light  of  Pall  Mall.  Then  it 
disappeared. 

"There 's  said  to  be  a  ghost  in  the  Castle." 

Perhaps,  after  all,  it  was  mere  banality,  but  I  believe 
it  did  rivet  the  bargain.  And  here  I  was  with  the  Castle 
on  my  hands,  and  the  Norroy  ghost,  if  so  be  tradition 
spoke  correctly.  Why,  I  had  forgotten  to  ask  Mrs. 
Jackman  about  it !  Never  mind,  the  fire  soothed,  and 
the  tobacco  also.  I  did  not  want  to  move.  My  eyes 
fell  again  on  the  book  I  had  not  read,  and  I  remembered 
something  else  that  the  red-headed  clerk  had  mentioned, 
—  "a  fine  iibn  ry  and  picture-gallery."  It  had  slipped 
my  memory. 

Jackman  entered  at  the  moment  to  inquire  if  I 
needed  anything  more  that  night,  and  I  tackled  him. 
"Yes,  sir,"  he  said,  with  his  punctilious  interval  of 


10  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


pause,  as  if  he  would  make  sure  I  had  done  talking. 
"The  library  is  up-stairs,  sir,  left  wing  —  over  your 
rooms,  sir.   The  picture-gallery  and  library  are  one." 

I  love  old  libraries ;  and  I  would  go  on  my  travels  in 
this.  I  ruminated  over  glass  and  pipe  till  the  loud  voice 
^'  of  the  bracket  clock  stirred  me  from  dreams.  It  struck 
ten,  and,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  tired.  Plainly,  it  should 
be  my  duty  as  well  as  my  pleasure  to  go  to  bed ;  and  I 
went. 

I  slipped  into  a  slumber,  very  light  and  easy,  out  of 
which  and  into  which  I  drifted  again  and  again  with- 
out any  feeling  of  discomfort  or  restlessness.  I  awoke 
and  heard  the  rain  that  beat  on  the  westward  windows ; 
I  heard  steps  upon  the  flagged  passageway;  I  thought 
1  heard  voices.  But  nothing  of  that  sort  troubled  me; 
it  was  a  whisper  that  did  that.  It  is  odd  how  the  lesser 
noise  provokes  the  sleeper,  while  the  voice  of  cannon 
in  his  ear  or  thunder  in  heaven  would  pass  almost  un- 
remarked.   I  sat  up,  listening. 

Was  it  the  wind  that  whispered  in  the  draughty  pas- 
sage, or  was  it  a  human  voice  I  lit  the  candle  and, 
looking  at  my  watch,  found  it  was  between  twelve  and 
one.  No  one  should  be  about  at  such  an  hour.  I  got 
up,  went  to  the  door  and  hearkened ;  and  now  I  thought 
I  heard  a  footstep  in  the  distance.  The  house  was  en- 
veloped in  silence.  I  opened  the  door ;  then  followed  a 
thin  but  distinct  clatter  of  some  object  falling  on  stone, 
and  on  that  an  objurgation.  I  hesitated  no  longer. 
This  could  hardly  be  Jackman,  and,  if  it  were,  he  must 
be  taught  the  first  duties  of  a  servant.  With  the  candle 
in  my  hand,  I  went  down  the  passage  in  the  direction 
of  the  sound. 

As  I  walked,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  noise  retreated ; 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery  11 


certain  crepitations  came  out  of  the  darkness  ahead, 
which  was  all  the  greater  darkness  because  of  my 
light.  I  turned  into  the  morning-room  on  the  trail,  now 
raised  to  a  pitch  of  some  excitement.  A  foot,  as  I  could 
have  sworn,  stumbled  not  a  dozen  paces  away.  I  ran 
forward. 

"Who  is  that.^"  I  cried. 

Even  as  I  did  so,  the  ghost  emerged  in  my  mind. 
But  ghosts  do  not  stumble  on  stairs;  and  that  was 
what  had  happened.  Nor  do  ghosts  carry  pencils,  so 
far  as  I  know,  and  it  was  a  pencil  I  picked  up.  Jack- 
man  had  spoken  of  the  old  staircase,  and  now  I  nearly 
ran  into  it.  It  rose  to  the  first  floor  from  an  ante- 
chamber, behind  the  morning-room,  and  I  almost 
caught  the  pencil,  as  it  rolled  from  stone  to  stone.  It 
was  the  second  time  that  pencil  had  been  dropped,  I 
was  sure,  for  the  same  clink  saluted  my  ears. 

I  went  up  the  staircase  as  swiftly  as  I  could,  and 
thought  in  that  moment  I  had  a  glimpse  of  the  in- 
truder. But  just  then  the  candle  went  out,  caught,  as 
I  supposed,  by  some  blast  along  the  upper  corridor. 
Feet  sounded  now  shamelessly  before  me,  as  some  one 
ran  for  it.  I  was  following,  but  was  grabbed  sharply 
by  the  shoulder  and  held  from  behind  with  two  arms. 
I  wrestled  with  my  assailant  at  a  disadvantage,  and  for 
some  minutes  there  was  audible  only  the  noise  of  the 
struggle.  Then,  with  an  effort,  I  threw  off  my 
adversary. 

"Help  !"  he  cried,  as  he  sprawled. 

Why  should  a  burglar  cry  for  help  in  the  house  of 
his  victim  ?  I  lit  a  match  and  peered  down.  It  was 
Jackman  ! 

"The  devil!"  I  ejaculated. 


12  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


''The  burglar!"  he  panted. 

I  grinned.  It  was  too  ridiculous,  that  we  should  have 
been  destroying  each  other,  while  the  invader  got  safely 
away.   But  had  he  ?   I  assisted  Jackman  to  his  feet. 

''Never  mind.  He's  gone  this  way.  What  rooms 
are  these      I  asked  hurriedly. 

"The  —  the  library  !"  he  puffed  out.  "But  —  but 
he  can't  be  there." 

"Oh,  well,  we  '11  see,"  I  threw  at  him,  as  I  strode 
quickly  do^n  the  corridor. 

It  was  not  quite  true  that  he  could  not  be  in  the 
library,  but  it  was  certainly  true  that  he  might  be  in 
one  of  a  dozen  places.  Four  doors  opened  from  the 
corridor  towards  the  front  of  the  Castle,  and  here  were 
as  many  hiding-places  as  rooms.  I  was  conscious  of 
Jackman  panting  behind  me,  and  then  I  gained  the 
library.  The  door  was  wide  open,  giving  promise  of 
the  quarry;  and  the  first  gleam  of  the  candle  on  the 
w^alls  told  me  where  I  was.  It  was  a  long  chamber, 
stretching,  I  gathered,  along  the  w^hole  reach  of  the 
west  wing  on  this  floor ;  and  faces  in  paint  stared  stiffly 
down  upon  me  as  I  thus  roughly  intruded  on  their 
quiet.  That  quiet  had  endured  in  some  cases  for  cen- 
turies, but  I  paid  no  heed  to  this  haughty  greeting,  and 
moved  among  the  bookcases  with  my  detective  light. 
Darkness  lurked  in  all  like  an  ambuscade,  and  shadows 
leaped  out  at  me.  The  shifting  blackness  in  which  that 
gallery  lay  enveloped  started  into  life  and  walked  with 
me.  I  peered,  and  heard  Jackman's  heavy  breathing 
over  my  shoulder. 

"Are  we  looking  for  a  ghost,  Jackman  ?"  said  I. 

"I  —  I  don't  know,  sir,"  he  panted,  and  added: 
^' There  is  a  ghost,  sir." 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery  13 


"And  he  carries  pencils,"  I  commented;  and  came 
at  the  word  to  a  pause. 

We  had  reached  one  of  the  huge  marble  fireplaces  half- 
way down  the  room,  and  my  candle  disclosed  something 
upon  the  bare  floor.   I  stooped  and  picked  it  up. 

"What  —  what  —  ?"  chattered  Jackman's  teeth  over 
my  shoulder,  and  he  put  forward  a  hand  as  if  he  would 
have  grabbed  it. 

"No,"  said  I,  "we've  no  time;"  and  I  pushed  on 
swiftly. 

In  the  bays  of  the  library  no  thief  skulked,  and  the 
candle  flashing  about  the  room  revealed  no  one.  We 
reached  the  north  wall  at  last,  which  I  perceived  to  be 
fronted  with  oak  up  to  the  height  of  ten  feet.  An 
ancient  handle  caught  my  eye,  suggesting  a  door. 

"What 's  this.^"  I  asked  Jackman. 

"The  strong-room,"  said  he,  promptly. 

I  tried  the  handle,  twisted  it  and  tugged  at  it. 

"It's  locked.?"  I  asked. 

"The  key  is  in  possession  of  Sir  Gilbert,  sir,"  he 
answered. 

I  meditated;  there  was  no  chance  of  concealment 
here  then,  but  the  discovery  supplied  perhaps  a  motive. 
However,  that  would  wait.  The  urgent  matter  was  to 
catch  the  thief.    Jackman  had  gone  to  a  window. 

"This  is  open,  sir,"  he  called.  "He  must  have  got 
out  this  way." 

I  joined  him.  The  windows  were  casements,  and 
sure  enough  one  had  been  cast  adrift  from  its  moorings, 
and  swung  lightly  to  and  fro.  I  gazed  down  into  the 
darkness. 

"It  must  be  thirty  feet,"  I  said.  "Not  impossible. 
Let 's  explore  the  other  side." 


14  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Jackman's  respectful  voice  urged  reasons  why  the  vil- 
lain must  have  escaped  this  way,  but  I  paid  no  heed.  I 
crossed  to  the  other  corner,  where  the  window  looked 
forth  on  a  courtyard,  and  then  noticed  a  door  in  the 
north  wall.  It  was  ajar,  and  I  pushed  it  wider,  dis- 
closing a  closet  of  oak,  which  was  empty.  But  a  darker 
shadow  in  the  floor  took  my  eye,  and  I  went  in.  Before 
me  a  narrow  stone  staircase  descended  to  the  ground 
floor.  I  had  just  made  this  discovery  when,  for  the 
second  time,  my  candle  went  out  abruptly. 

I  uttered  an  exclamation  of  annoyance,  and  turned, 
for  I  could  have  sworn  that  the  draught  had  not  come 
from  below.  I  groped  in  the  candlestick,  but  to  my 
chagrin  could  not  find  the  box  of  matches.  It  must 
have  fallen,  I  thought,  that  time  I  had  been  struggling 
with  Jackman;  and  then,  of  a  sudden,  I  remembered 
that  I  had  used  it  to  light  the  candle  afterwards.  But 
anyhow,  it  had  gone,  slipping  somewhere  during  our 
reconnoitre,  no  doubt.  I  carried  nothing  of  course  in 
my  pajamas;  but  Jackman  was  properly  clothed,  and 
I  called  to  him. 

"Have  you  any  matches?"  I  called. 

There  was  silence,  during  which  I  conceived  him  to 
be  fumbling  in  his  pockets,  and  then  he  spoke. 

"Sorry,  sir;  no,  sir." 

I  ejaculated  my  disappointment  tersely.  "Never 
mind,"  said  I,  "we  must  go  down  all  the  same.  Where 
does  this  lead  p" 

"Into  the  western  passage,  sir,"  he  returned,  "near 
your  rooms." 

I  dropped  down  as  lightly  as  I  could,  and  Jackman's 
heavier  weight  punctuated  the  silence.  Certainly  it 
would  give  my  burglar  notice,  for  all  the  world  as  if  it 


The  Book  in  the  Gallery  15 


were  policeman's  boots  that  stamped  on  the  stone. 
Presently,  I  touched  the  lower  floor,  and  put  out  my 
hand,  groping  till  I  grazed  a  wall.  It  took  me  several 
minutes  to  find  a  door,  but  at  last  I  succeeded,  and, 
feeling  along  a  passageway,  we  painfully  progressed. 

"Where  are  we  now?"  I  asked  at  last. 

"Back  in  the  room  you  dined  in,  sir,"  said  Jackman. 

"Good  Lord  !  I  give  it  up  !"  I  remarked  in  despair. 

There  was  the  sound  of  a  match  crackling,  and  a 
spurt  of  fire  issued  from  Jackman's  fingers.  "Why, 
man,  you  have  matches !"  I  cried. 

"Just  got  them  from  the  mantelpiece,  sir,"  he  ex- 
plained. He  lit  my  candle,  and  we  surveyed  each 
other. 

"It 's  no  go,  Jackman,"  I  said  with  resignation. 
"We  're  done.  By  the  way,  what  is  kept  in  the  strong 
room  .^" 

"The  family  plate,  sir,  and  the  gold  service  pre- 
sented to  Sir  Craven  in  1772,  and  the  Norroy  jewels." 

"Ah  !"  I  said  significantly.  "Well,  we  are  not  worth 
much  as  detectives,  Jackman,  and  I  think  we  may  take 
it  our  man  has  vanished,  and  go  to  bed." 

"Yes,  sir,"  agreed  the  butler. 

We  parted,  and  I  sought  my  room.  But  I  was 
thoroughly  awake  and  likely  to  remain  so.  So  I  flung 
myself  on  the  bed,  and  took  out  of  my  pajamas  pocket 
the  object  I  had  picked  up  in  the  library.  It  was  a 
black  note-book,  such  as  might  be  purchased  at  any 
stationer's  shop  for  a  few  pence.  There  was  no  mark 
on  it  to  indicate  ownership,  and  only  the  name  of  a 
stationer  in  Kensington  in  tiny  type  in  one  corner. 
But  what  puzzled  me  was  the  contents.  Only  some 
three  or  four  pages  had  been  used,  and  these  were 


16 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


covered  in  a  scrawling  male  hand,  as  if  it  were  written 
by  an  uneducated,  or  semi-educated  person. 

'*Madona  and  child,"  I  made  out,  and  beneath, 
"Coregio," 

''Storm  — Claude  " 

''Lady  Claire  Norroy  —  Reynolds,"  and  this  was 
starred  heavily  thus  — 

"Pilage  of  Sain  —  Sant  —  San  Sebastion."  The 
writer  had  made  several  attempts  to  arrive  at  accuracy 
here. 

I  gazed  at  the  pages  in  perplexity,  and  also  in  dis- 
appointment. They  seemed  merely  to  contain  a  list  of 
pictures,  which  was  hardly  in  keeping  with  the  property 
of  a  thief.  Was  there,  after  all,  any  connection  between 
the  pencil,  which  obviously  did  belong  to  the  intruder, 
and  this  book.^^  At  any  rate,  there  was  no  clue  here. 
And  when  I  had  come  to  this  conclusion,  rather  sadly, 
I  remembered  the  dark  staircase.  An  impulse  urged 
me  to  take  my  light  and  inspect  it  forthwith. 

I  traced  my  way  along  the  passage  until  I  came  to  a 
door  which  must  have  admitted  us  on  our  backward 
journey.  Beyond  was  the  staircase  for  certain,  winding 
upward.  But  what  interested  me  more  was  another 
door,  fronting  the  staircase;  and  this  I  examined.  To 
my  surprise  it  was  unlocked,  and  when  I  turned  the 
handle,  a  rush  of  cool  air  streamed  in.  My  light  glim- 
mered on  the  gravel  of  the  courtyard.  This  door  gave 
access  to  the  safe  and  empty  night. 

It  was  plain  at  last  how  the  burglar  had  escaped.  I 
locked  the  door  and  went  back  to  my  room;  and,  satis- 
fied thus  far  with  my  elucidation  of  the  mystery,  I  slowly 
found  the  sleep  for  which  I  resolutely  composed  myself. 


CHAPTER  II 


PERDITA 

1HAVE  said  that  I  was  pleased  with  the  dignity  of 
my  chamber,  which  was  too  admirably  proportioned 
to  seem  over  large.  And  as  the  full  light  of  the  morning 
bathed  the  grounds,  I  was  more  than  delighted  with 
its  prospect.  It  stared  wide  of  the  lawns,  out  of  two 
long  windows,  upon  some  bright  spring  beds,  and  a 
wilderness  of  trees.  Across  the  sward  a  gap  in  a  thick 
beech  hedge  broke  the  way  into  a  tangled  wild  orchard, 
which  again  passed  into  the  trees  of  the  small  park; 
while,  over  the  field  of  green  lawns,  was  the  ever-moving 
water  of  the  Channel.  A  huge  red  thorn  danced  soberly 
in  the  sunshine  across  the  gravel  path,  and  the  bastions 
of  the  sea  were  blue  and  sparkling.  My  eyes  carried 
from  foreground  to  distance  with  immense  delectation. 
I  dressed  in  cheerful  spirits,  anxious  to  be  out  and  en- 
joying that  fine  sea-breeze.  And  then,  unexpectedly, 
I  recalled  the  adventure  of  the  night,  and  my  glance 
went  to  the  table  by  my  bed  for  the  little  note-book. 
To  my  astonishment,  it  had  vanished  ! 

I  searched  everywhere,  hunting  in  every  likely  place 
in  the  room,  but  without  result.  The  book  had  disap- 
peared as  absolutely  as  if  it  had  never  existed  at  all. 
Well,  here  was  another  problem  to  use  my  wits  on.  I 
was  nothing  loath,  and  I  started  on  it.  I  had  certainly 
left  the  book  in  my  room  when  I  had  gone  forth  to 

2 


18  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


explore  the  second  time.  Ergo :  it  had  been  stolen  dur- 
ing my  absence.  I  had  no  doubt  in  my  own  mind  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  thief;  yet  it  threw  open  an  appall- 
ing prospect.  The  burglar  had  not  escaped  from 
the  house,  but  had  been  in  hiding  through  the  night 
and  had  reclaimed  his  property. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  other  solution  possible,  yet 
I  consulted  Jackman  at  breakfast,  which  he  served 
like  the  expert  servant  he  was.  He  was  respectfully 
surprised  to  hear  of  the  book's  disappearance,  and 
was  anxious  to  know  if  I  was  sure  I  had  placed  it  on 
the  table.  But  he  had  no  alternative  solution  to  offer; 
nor,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  did  the  idea  of  the  nocturnal 
thief  trouble  him  as  much  as  it  did  me.  But,  then,  one 
never  knows  what  emotions  beat  under  the  unruffled 
exterior  of  the  w^ell-trained  servant.  He  appeared  to 
be  much  more  concerned  lest  I  should  not  have  the 
marmalade  I  liked,  and  the  coffee  to  my  taste,  than 
lest  Norroy  Castle  should  be  rifled  of  its  treasures. 
And  that  thought  reminded  me  of  the  strong-room, 
diverting  my  attention  from  the  lost  note-book. 

"The  plate  and  the  jewels  must  have  been  the 
object,"  I  said,  wondering  at  the  carelessness  w^hich 
did  not  entrust  such  valuables  to  a  bank  or  safe 
deposit. 

Jackman  agreed  v^^ith  me,  precipitately  for  him: 
"Yes,  sir;  very  likely,  sir."  But  the  hinge  on  which 
they  swung  was  bound  to  bring  my  thoughts  back. 

"And  if  the  note-book  meant  nothing,  Jackman,  why 
was  it  stolen  from  me.^" 

"You  don't  know  what  was  in  it,  sir?"  suggested 
Jackman  tentatively. 

"Why,  yes;  and  that  is  the  strange  part  of  it.  It 


Perdita 


19 


held  no  deadly  or  dangerous  secrets.  It  was  merely 
a  list  of  pictures." 

**Indeed,  sir,"  Jackman  uncovered  the  dish  of 
kidneys. 

"A  list,  suggesting  it  was  a  list  of  the  pictures  in  the 
library,"  I  added.  "Is  there  a  portrait  of  Lady  Claire 
Norroy  there?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  think  there  is,"  said  the  butler,  handing 
me  the  toast. 

"And  is  there  a  Claude.^" 

"Claude,  sir?"  repeated  Jackman,  deferentially, 
but  without  intelligence. 

It  was  clear  that  the  name  of  the  celebrated  painter 
conveyed  no  meaning  to  him.  "I  don't  think  there  was 
any  Norroy  called  Claude,  sir,"  he  added  thoughtfully. 

I  was,  of  course,  bent  on  an  examination  of  the 
library  and  its  treasures  by  daylight,  and  immediately 
after  breakfast  ascended  the  staircase.  The  room  had 
a  worn  and  dilapidated  air  in  the  sunshine  which  was 
merciless  to  its  shabby  furniture.  Yet  its  faded  honors 
clothed  it  with  a  certain  impressiveness  and  the  pic- 
tures redeemed  it  altogether  for  dignity.  The  pictures 
were  not  numerous,  but  some  work  by  great  hands 
decorated  the  walls.  There  was  the  Reynolds  of  Lady 
Claire,  the  Claude  beyond  doubt,  an  obvious  Velasquez, 
and  a  characteristic  Rubens.  If  Lely  were  not  repre- 
jcnted,  it  was  a  faithful  disciple  of  Lely,  and  two  Van 
Dycks  were  not  to  be  overlooked.  Altogether  it  would 
have  been  a  serviceable  little  gallery  to  any  amateur 
collector,  and  interested  me  intrinsically,  apart  from 
my  particular  quest.  As  for  that,  I  saw  at  the  first 
glance  what  I  wanted ;  the  note-book  undoubtedly  had 
contained  the  beginnings  of  a  catalogue.    But  why, 


20 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Heaven  alone  could  say.  Jackman,  who  accompanied 
me  to  the  gallery,  had  now  a  bright  suggestion  in 
explanation. 

"It  must  have  been  one  of  the  tourists,"  he  declared. 

"What,  have  you  tourists  here  —  in  this  remote 
spot.^"  I  asked,  remembering  my  fly-man. 

"Yes,  sir;  they  come  over  sometimes  from  Kings- 
bridge  or  Plymouth,"  he  replied.  "The  Castle 's  men- 
tioned in  the  guide-books." 

"Do  you  get  many  visitors  ?"  I  asked,  recalling  now 
the  man  at  the  gate  with  his  cigar,  and  the  girl  in  the 
park. 

"Not  many,"  he  admitted.  "But  sometimes  in  the 
summer." 

"Had  any  lately  ?"  I  inquired,  still  with  my  mind  on 
the  young  lady. 

"Yes,  sir  —  the  last  two  days,"  he  replied  promptly. 
"A  lady.?" 

"Yes,  sir,  and  a  gentleman,  sir." 
"Together?"  I  asked. 

"No,  sir;  separately,  sir.  And  it's  my  belief,  sir, 
that  the  book  belonged  to  one  of  them." 

"Do  you  think  the  lady  ventured  into  my  bedroom 
to  steal  it  at  one  this  morning  ?"  I  asked  mildly. 

Jackman  was  thrown  into  polite  confusion.  "Well, 
no,  sir;  I  don't  know,  sir;"  adding,  "perhaps  it  will 
turn  up,  sir." 

I  left  him,  pottered  about  in  the  gallery,  and  at  last 
went  down  by  the  other  stairway,  which  gave  access 
to  the  courtyard.  From  the  courtyard  I  blundered 
through  a  door  which  communicated  by  a  passage  with 
some  furnished  rooms;  and  soon  perceived  I  must 
be  in  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  Jackmans.  This 


Perdita 


21 


information  was  confirmed  by  the  sound  of  a  man's 
voice,  which  reached  me  in  a  rumble.  Rumble  as  it 
was,  it  had  a  certain  agitant  and  minatory  timbre  that 
penetrated.  It  was  of  that  sustained  monotone  that 
bespeaks  the  scolding.  And  suddenly  there  was  silence. 
Trying  to  solve  the  riddle  of  my  position,  I  broke  into 
the  kitchen,  and  heard  the  sound  of  the  kettle  singing 
and  of  a  woman  sniffing.  I  looked  about,  and  found 
Mrs.  Jackman  with  a  handkerchief  to  her  eyes  by  the 
table. 

"iVnything  the  matter,  Mrs.  Jackman.^"  I  asked, 
and  she  started  up  with  a  cry.  "Sorry  I  startled  you," 
I  remarked.  "1  've  lost  my  way  in.  I  hope  you  're 
not  in  trouble." 

"Mrs.  Jackman  has  the  headache,  sir,"  said  a  voice 
behind  me.  I  swept  about  and  met  her  husband's 
demure  eyes.  "She  always  cries  when  she  has  the 
headache." 

"I  always  cries  when  I  has  the  headache,"  sniffed 
the  woman.  I  glanced  from  the  one  to  the  other.  It 
was  no  business  of  mine,  yet  I  was  perfectly  aware  that 
whether  Mrs.  Jackman  had  or  had  not  a  headache,  it 
was  not  the  headache  that  had  driven  her  to  tears.  I 
remembered  the  scolding  voice;  but  Jackman's  face 
was  devoid  of  all  anger,  annoyance,  or  any  feeling  what- 
ever. I  passed  on  with  the  expression  of  a  casual  hope 
that  she  might  soon  recover.  And  Jackman  piloted 
me  into  my  own  apartments. 

But  I  was  now  for  the  sunshine  that  was  moving 
among  the  May  foliage.  The  short  round  drum- 
towers,  between  which  the  hall  door  swung,  fronted 
a  paradise  of  green  lawn,  spaced  with  many  flowering 
trees  and  shrubs.    Up  one  tower  crept  an  ancient 


22  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


wistaria,  on  which  the  lavender  trusses  were  opening. 
Pink  hawthorns  were  sprinkled  here  and  there  and  the 
back  of  the  lawn  was  gay  with  drooping  laburnum. 
Lilac  rose  in  embowered  masses  behind  the  borders, 
and  the  white  and  red  candles  of  the  horse-chestnut 
glittered  in  the  distance.  Yet  for  all  these  glories, 
the  garden  was  not  elaborate,  but  rather  unpretentious. 
The  pinch  of  its  poverty  showed  in  its  flower  beds, 
which  were  cheaply  maintained  by  herbaceous  peren- 
nials, none  the  less  beautiful  for  that.  It  was  a  self- 
respecting  garden,  decently  well-groomed,  the  economy 
showing  through.  It  was  lavish  only  in  its  self-sufficing 
blossoms,  as  an  impoverished  house  may  display  mar- 
vellous heirlooms,  descended  from  a  more  fortunate 
past.  It  could  not  keep  pace  with  nouveaux  riches,  but 
was  not  ashamed  of  its  shabby  gentility.  It  had,  so  to 
speak,  retired  on  Nature,  leaving  to  the  gardener  the 
job  of  merely  tidying  up.  His  was  no  longer  the  work 
of  an  artist,  but  of  a  housemaid.  Yet  I  would  not 
have  exchanged  it  for  a  thousand  houses  of  orchids 
and  ferneries  and  stoves.  It  grew  out  of  doors  and 
was  acclimatized  to  its  air  and  sunshine.  It  was  as 
much  a  part  of  Norroy  Castle  as  the  orchard  wilder- 
ness, as  the  long-grown  grasses  of  the  park,  as  the 
restless  sea  in  the  offing. 

To  this  sea  I  wended  my  way,  by  a  winding  path 
Ihrough  a  wild  garden,  which  eventually  frankly  merged 
in  a  copse.  At  the  end  of  the  path  I  found  a  gate  in  the 
wall,  and  opening  it  I  came  out  on  the  sea  front.  The 
tide  was  running  out,  and  betwixt  the  demesne  of  the 
Castle  and  the  receding  water  was  a  space  of  broken 
rocks  and  sand.  I  picked  my  way  to  the  very  edge  of 
the  sea,  and  wheeled  my  eyes  in  a  semicircle  from  shore 


Perdita 


23 


to  shore.  Eastward  a  bluff  terminated  my  view,  but 
to  the  west  I  could  see  the  rocks  rise  into  a  cliff,  on 
w^hich  the  waters  of  the  Channel  still  broke  with  spray. 
I  moved  eastward,  till  I  had  reached  the  bluff,  and 
here  I  caught  sight  of  two  men.  As  they  were  the  only 
human  beings  in  sight,  I  gave  them  the  more  attention. 
One  was  tall,  slight  and  swarthy,  and  the  other  of  an 
extreme  disparity,  being  short,  rather  fair,  and  some- 
what stout.  They  were  conversing  together,  and  gave 
me  the  shafts  of  their  eyes  when  I  hove  in  view.  But 
immediately  the  little  man  turned  his  back  upon  me, 
an  example  which  his  companion  presently  followed. 
They  began  to  walk  slowly  along  the  shore. 

I  am  setting  down  the  observations  and  impressions 
of  this,  my  first  day  in  Norroy  Castle,  because  of  the 
importance  assumed  by  some  of  them  later.  The  two 
walked  along  the  foreshore  at  a  little  distance  in  front 
of  me,  and  I  idly  noticed  that  the  smaller  man  was 
dressed  in  some  ordinary  tweeds,  and  that  his  shoulders 
hunched  up  about  a  somewhat  neckless  head.  But 
beyond  that,  and  the  casual  recognition  of  an  apparent 
distinction  between  the  class  to  which  he  belonged  and 
that  of  his  companion,  I  remember  no  further  impres- 
sions. I  had  eyes  and  ears,  indeed,  for  the  sea  only,  and 
so  we  covered  the  mile  or  so  that  lay  between  the  little 
bluff  and  the  mouth  of  the  inlet.  Round  the  turn  of 
this  was  a  tiny  fishing  hamlet  of  some  dozen  cottages, 
styled,  I  discovered  subsequently,  ''The  Point,"  clus- 
tering under  a  rise  of  the  land ;  and  some  boats  rode  at 
anchor  in  the  stream. 

I  took  the  road  here  that  leads  up  the  estuary,  and 
a  brisk  walk  brought  me  to  the  superior  village  of 
Southington,  which  I  had  passed  the  evening  before 


24  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  vaguely  was  aware  that  the  two  men  had  halted  in 
the  hamlet,  and,  still  more  vaguely,  on  thinking  it  over 
subsequently,  I  had  the  notion  that  they  went  down 
to  the  boats. 

Southington  I  found  to  be  a  picturesque  place,  in 
the  sunlight,  set  at  a  little  height  above  the  water,  its 
cottages  furnished  with  pleasant  green  gardens,  and 
the  village  distinguished  by  a  post-office  in  the  grocer's 
shop  and  a  tidy  inn  —  "The  Feathers."  Down  by 
the  estuary  was  a  small  landing-stage  and  boats,  and 
I  soon  got  into  conversation  with  a  seafaring  man 
who  was  lounging  near.  It  seemed  that  the  boats 
were  his  property,  and  that  he  let  them  to  summer 
visitors. 

"Do  you  get  many.^"  I  inquired,  and  gathered  that 
they  did  not  get  so  many  as  he  wished.  But  he  was  a 
cheerful  spirit,  and  enjoyed  a  gossip.  There  were 
two  ladies  staying  at  Mrs.  Lane's,  he  told  me  with 
a  nod  over  his  shoulder,  and  a  gentleman  at  the  inn; 
another  gentleman,  he  suddenly  recollected,  at  old 
Mrs.  Turner's.  "But  there's  time  yet,"  he  ended 
philosophically. 

The  waters  of  the  estuary  lapped  coolly  against  the 
piers  of  the  landing-stage;  and  the  bright  sun  shim- 
mered in  the  waving  mirror,  breaking  into  a  thousand 
lights.  The  land  here  opened  in  a  deep  and  generous 
fissure ;  across  the  water,  half  a  mile  away,  rose  w^ooded 
slopes,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  descry  islets 
in  the  distance.  To  encourage  my  sociable  acquaint- 
ance, I  told  him  to  reserve  me  a  boat  for  the  afternoon. 
I  had  come  down  to  work,  certainly,  but  I  was  no  galley- 
slave  to  begin  right  away.  I  looked  at  my  watch  and 
found  I  had  just  time  to  get  back  for  lunch.    And  so 


Perdita 


25 


I  passed  through  the  village  and  entered  on  the  road 
that  climbs  the  hill  to  the  Castle. 

You  will  conceive  that  I  was  not  a  little  engaged  by 
the  odd  circumstances  of  the  night,  including  the  myste- 
rious note-book;  yet  I  was  not  breaking  my  wits  on 
the  knotty  puzzle.  The  day  was  too  magnificent  to 
waste  on  such  a  task,  for  I  take  it  that  sensation  rather 
than  reason  is  the  prime  avenue  of  happiness.  Well,  I 
was  for  sensation  all  the  time,  and,  lest  I  should  over- 
indulge in  dreaming,  I  must  add  to  that,  action.  This 
my  rowing  excursion  promised  me.  I  returned  to 
Southington  in  good  time,  and  launched  my  fortunes. 
I  put  up  the  sail,  which  drew  lightly,  and  under  an 
easy  breeze  from  the  south  I  tacked  up  the  estuary, 
I  had  resolved  on  making  the  village  at  the  head  of  the 
water,  but  I  was  tempted  aside  to  the  wooded  shores. 
This  may  have  been  destiny,  or  it  more  probably  was 
chance;  but  at  any  rate  it  led  to  a  little  adventure. 
The  foreshore  descended  in  a  gentle  slope  to  the  edge 
of  the  estuary,  and  was  thickly  grown  with  trees  and 
bushes  and  briars,  all  in  the  early  verdure  of  spring. 
As  I  approached,  I  was  aware  of  a  woman  on  a  patch 
of  sand  who  was  waving  her  hands,  and  gesticulating 
wildly;  also  of  a  cry  on  the  air.  Was  this  beauty  in 
distress  ?  I  gave  the  tiller  a  turn  and  ran  in,  beaching 
on  the  smooth  shore. 

"What  is  it.^"  I  asked. 

She  came  towards  me  with  little  quick  steps,  as  though 
hampered  by  her  skirts,  which  I  noticed  were  pinned  up 
above  a  length  of  pink  unstockinged  leg. 

"There  !  There  !"  she  pointed,  her  large  eyes  wide 
with  horror.  "Oh,  quick;  she  will  be  drowned  —  and 
drift  out  to  sea." 


26  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  stared;  some  distance  out  from  the  shore  was  a 
little  boat,  but  I  could  see  no  sign  of  life  in  it.  My 
gaze  returned  to  the  lady,  who  was  wringing  her 
hands. 

"Oh,  how  can  you  wait  and  lose  time ?  It 's  cruel !" 
she  declared. 

''Please,  let  me  understand,"  I  urged.  "What  is  it 
I  am  to  do 

"A  lady  —  in  the  boat  there,"  she  cried  breathlessly. 
I  turned  again  to  look  at  the  skiff.    "I  see  no  one," 
I  said. 

"She  is  asleep!"  she  bleated. 

"Asleep!"  I  echoed,  and  momentarily  questioned 
the  speaker's  sanity. 

"Oh,  yes,  can't  you  understand.^"  she  pleaded. 
"We  rowed  here,  and  it  looked  nice,  and  I  got  out,  and 
she  went  to  sleep,  and  the  boat  drifted  off." 

She  positively  wailed. 

"But  she  can  row  back,"  I  suggested. 

She  dramatically,  even  tragically,  waved  her  arms 
to  the  sculls,  that  I  now  observed  on  the  sand.  "She 
has  nothing  to  row  with,"  she  cried  in  despair.  "We 
took  them  ashore,  to  make  them  safe."  The  idea  had 
a  certain  originality,  but  I  did  not  laugh. 

"Oh!"  I  said  simply.  "Well,  no  harm's  done. 
We  '11  soon  pick  her  up."  I  edged  the  boat  more  con- 
veniently to  her  that  she  might  enter,  and  she  saw  my 
design,  but  drew  back,  suddenly  abashed.  Now  that 
I  had  reassured  her  of  her  friend's  ultimate  safety,  I 
think  she  remembered  her  tucked-up  gown  and  her 
bare  feet. 

"No,  —  I  —  I  don't  think  I  will  go,"  she  stammered, 
*'if  you  are  sure  you  can  save  her." 


Perdita  27 

"Certain  sure  !"  I  said  cheerfully,  and  I  pushed  off. 

My  sail  carried  me  down  on  the  drifting  boat  pretty 
quickly,  but  I  still  could  not  see  that  it  contained  any 
one.  I  dropped  the  sail,  and  deftly  manoeuvred  my 
craft  closer,  so  that  the  bottom  of  the  skiff  was  visible. 
Stretched  out,  with  her  head  comfortably  reposing  on 
a  silken  pillow,  her  eyes  shut  to  the  green  world  and  the 
blue  heaven  above,  lay  the  girl  I  had  seen  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  in  the  Castle  grounds.  I  recognized  her 
a.t  once,  and  wondered  why.  Had  I  come  to  note  things 
more  closely  since  my  rustication  ?  Even  in  sleep  she 
had  an  individual  grace,  which,  I  should  imagine,  was 
hard  to  come  by;  but  my  experience  is  limited.  My 
boat  bumped  gently  against  hers,  but  she  did  not  wake, 
merely  threw  a  delightful  arm  across  the  bronze  wealth 
of  her  hair.  I  sat  observing  her.  This  must  be  one  of 
the  ladies  who  were  lodging  at  Mrs.  Lane's,  and  my 
distressed  friend  was  no  doubt  the  other.  The  boats 
grazed  again,  and  her  eyelids  quivered.  Then  she  sat 
up  with  a  start. 

"Why  — what  — !" 

The  exclamation  passed  into  a  look  of  dismay  and 
fear,  and  that  in  its  turn  gave  way  to  one  of  distance. 

"I  don't  understand  —  "  she  began  coldly. 

"A  runaway  horse,"  I  said  smiling,  "and  no  bit  to 
turn  it;"  I  indicated  the  land,  and  the  intermediate 
water.  A  deep  flush  enlivened  her  face,  as  she  gradu- 
ally took  it  all  in. 

"I  must  have  —  been  asleep,"  she  murmured.  "And 
you-" 

"A  lady  sent  me  in  search,"  I  explained. 
"Oh!  Thank  you!"  she  exclaimed  in  gasps.  "I'm 
so  sorry !   What  a  nuisance  I 've  been  !" 


28  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  endeavored  to  lull  that  fear,  but  she  paid  me  little 
heed.   "Did  you  —  are  my  oars  —  ?"  she  asked. 

''They  were  carefully  landed,"  said  I,  gravely,  "and 
very  neatly  set  together." 

"Oh,  that's  so  like  Isabel!"  she  broke  out.  "I 
suppose  she  was  afraid  some  one  would  go  off  with 
them.  She  has  a  passion  for  neatness,"  she  added,  with 
the  first  smile  I  had  seen  her  wear. 

"Well,  that  being  so,"  I  suggested,  "you  will  let  me 
tow  you  .^^" 

By  way  of  assent,  she  silently  passed  me  a  rope,  and 
I  made  the  skiff  fast.  Then  we  ran  lightly  towards  the 
shore.  On  our  arrival  no  Isabel  was  to  be  seen.  My 
waif  raised  a  musical  voice  for  her,  and  presently  a 
muffled  cry  issued  from  the  wood.  I  wondered  if 
there  was  more  distress,  and  if  I  was  to  continue 
being  a  knight  errant.  I  did  not  dislike  the  role  so 
far. 

"Perhaps  it  ^s  a  wolf,"  said  I  hopefully,  and  would 
have  darted  forward  to  the  rescue,  but  her  cool  and 
decisive  voice  stopped  me. 

"I  think  I  will  go,  if  you  don't  mind,"  she  said,  and 
added,  with  a  little  dry  sense  of  humor:  "That  is 
Isabel's  cry  of  distress." 

I  waited,  and  presently  she  emerged  again  from  the 
bushes,  and  came  down  to  the  boats..  She  searched 
in  her  own,  and  took  out  demurely  a  pair  of  stockings, 
equipped  with  which  she  silently  walked  back  to  the 
wood.  I  waited  still,  though  I  knew  I  had  no  right  to 
do  so.  My  duty  was  done.  On  her  second  return,  I 
was  busy  putting  her  oars  in  the  boat,  in  order  to  ac- 
count for  my  stay. 

"I  am  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  she,  in  a 


Perdita 


29 


pleasant,  informal  way;  and  then  seemed  for  the  first 
time  to  realize  that  she  too  had  broken  out  of  taut  and 
trim  conventions.  She  put  her  hand  up  to  her  neck, 
down  which  the  beautiful  hair  streamed  untidUy,  but 
picturesquely,  and  refastened  it  without  the  slightest 
embarrassment. 

"It  was  good  of  you  to  come  for  me,"  she  said. 

"I  have  often  longed  for  such  a  chance,"  said  I. 
"All  my  life  I  have  indulged  in  dreams  of  saving 
princesses,  and  now  I  have  awaked  to  find  it  true, 
thank  goodness." 

She  dwelled  on  me  fully  and  seriously  with  her  eyes 
for  a  moment,  and  then  replied : 

"Here  comes  Miss  Fuller." 

Miss  Fuller  emerged,  and  we  watched  her  delicate 
tread  across  the  sand.  She  was  tall  and  of  a  somewhat 
large  frame,  but  by  no  means  stout,  save  that  her  face, 
which  was  comely,  was  rather  full.  Animation  kindled 
her  expressive  eyes. 

"Oh,  I  am  so  thankful,  dear  Perdita,  that  it  was  no 
worse,"  she  said.  "It  might  have  been,  if  this  gentle- 
man had  n't  kindly  — " 

"Oh,  I 've  thanked  him,"  said  Perdita,  a  little  curtly, 
I  thought. 

Perdita !  The  name  was  music  in  my  ears.  Miss 
Fuller  struck  me  as  a  little  on  the  other  side  of  thirty ; 
Perdita  could  not  have  been  more  than  five  and  twenty. 
I  arranged  the  oars  in  the  boat.  "You  will  have  a  stiff 
pull  against  the  tide,"  I  said. 

Perdita  glanced  at  the  water  indifferently.  "Miss 
Fuller  rows  very  well,"  she  said  coolly. 

"My  dear  Perdita,  only  when  I  don't  catch  crabs, 
explained  her  companion. 


30  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"If  you  will  allow  me,  I  can  take  you  in  my  boat.  I 
have  a  sail,"  I  explained. 

"Thank  you,  I  think  we  shall  do  very  well,"  said 
Perdita. 

She  was  adorable  to  look  on,  but  I  feared  she  might 
have  that  terrible  downrightness  of  the  modem  girl, 
which  is  a  misapprehension  of  independence. 

But  Miss  Fuller  had  clearly  no  hankering  after  the 
oars. 

"If  Mr.  — "  she  hesitated. 

"My  name  is  Brabazon;  I  am  living  at  the  Castle,'* 
I  explained,  in  the  hope  of  giving  my  bona  fides. 

A  glance  shot  between  the  girls. 

"Oh,  if  Sir  —  if  Mr.  Brabazon  would  be  so  good, 
Perdita  dear — "  began  Miss  Fuller. 

Perdita  dear  turned  away.  "Certainly,  if  you  are 
tired,"  she  said  unceremoniously,  and  then,  as  if  she 
remembered,  "It  is  very  good  of  you." 

The  skiff  flopping  astern,  we  set  sail  down  the 
estuary.  The  breeze  from  the  south  still  held,  and  I 
had  to  make  several  tacks  to  reach  the  Southington 
landing-stage.  And  when  we  were  there,  it  seemed 
very  natural  that  I  should  walk  up  the  beach  with  them 
to  the  village. 

At  the  gate  into  a  trim  little  garden,  with  an  over- 
arching porch  of  honeysuckle  and  clematis,  the  ladies 
paused,  and  Perdita  gave  me  a  little  informal  nod,  in 
dismissal.  Her  companion,  more  gracious,  smiled 
kindly  at  me,  and  I  felt  her  eyes  still  following  me  when 
I  moved  on  after  my  salute.  It  struck  me  as  rather  a 
tame  conclusion  of  what  had  promised  to  be  an  interest- 
ing affair.  I  had  got  no  farther  with  Perdita's  name, 
though  I  had  the  better  part  of  it,  and  our  acquaint- 


Perdita 


31 


ance  ended  abruptly  as  it  had  begun.  The  girl  tanta- 
lized me,  but  I  admired  her  gait  as  she  passed  up  the 
pathway  to  the  tiled  cottage. 

As  my  adventure  had  ended  so  early,  there  was  noth- 
ing for  it  but  to  stroll  home,  and,  as  I  went  by  the  village 
pump  on  the  green,  I  was  aware  of  eyes  bent  on  me 
from  another  quarter. 

In  front  of  a  cottage  stood  a  young  man  of  middle 
size  and  spare  body,  in  a  rather  assertive  Norfolk  suit, 
with  knickerbockers  of  a  loose  riding  pattern.  The 
stranger,  who  was  clean-shaven  and  had  a  mocking 
resemblance  to  a  groom,  gave  me  a  friendly  nod. 

"Niceish  day!"  he  commented. 

Though  I  was  the  tenant  of  Norroy  Castle,  I  was  not 
proud,  and,  to  say  the  truth,  I  leaned  towards  gossip 
in  my  solitude.   I  stopped,  and  returned  his  greeting. 

"  Staying  up  at  the  Castle  ?  "  he  inquired,  nibbling  a 
twig.    "Decent  old  place." 

The  terms  were  only  roughly  adequate,  and  to  be 
excused  because  of  the  speaker's  obvious  limitations 
of  vocabulary. 

"Charming,"    I  corrected. 

"Glad  you  like  it,"  he  said  briefly,  and  then  looked 
down  the  road.  "Tolerable  looking  girls,"  he  observed, 
classing  them  thus  sacrilegiously  together.  "But  not 
quite  my  style." 

"Ah,  you  fly  high,  doubtless,"  I  remarked,  with  all 
my  sarcasm  in  my  voice  and  my  civil  inclination  of  the 
head. 

"I  suppose  I  do,"  he  replied  simply.  "I  like  a  flier  — 
a  girl  with  some  go  in  her.  That  girl 's  a  bit  la-de-da 
for  me.    Pretty,  though." 

Pretty !  Why,  the  nincompoop  interested  me  by  his 


32  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


very  disqualifications.  He  spoke  lazily,  yet  with  the 
accent  of  one  who  has  been  brought  up  on  that  inde- 
finable but  distinctive  plane  of  gentleman.  Otherwise, 
he  might  have  been  a  jockey,  and  should. 

''She 's  been  here  a  week  or  so,"  he  added. 

Here  was  my  manifest  chance  to  draw  my  informa- 
tion from  such  an  obviously  amiable  and  communicative 
simpleton. 

"A  pretty  girl,"  I  assented,  adopting  his  wretched 
adjective,  "and  no  doubt  a  pretty  name." 

"Don't  know  her  name,"  says  this  oaf,  and  added: 
"You  seem  a  bit  smitten.   We  can  find  out  at  the  inn." 

I  had  not  come  down  from  London  to  retain  London 
manners.  I  was  free  and  unfettered,  king  of  my  own 
actions,  and  in  the  country  could  do  as  the  country 
evidently  did.  Nonchalantly  I  walked  down  to  the  inn 
with  my  new  friend,  who,  before  entering,  peered  in 
at  a  window,  sticking  up  a  single  eye-glass  to  do  so. 
It  gleamed  in  a  brown  freckled  face  to  one  side  of  a 
large  nose. 

"Chalmers  in!"  he  said,  and  entered. 

Once  inside,  I  was  induced  to  take  a  glass  with  him, 
which,  being  warm  from  my  exertions,  I  was  not  reluc- 
tant to  do.  We  sat  in  a  little  parlor  at  the  back  of  the 
bar,  smelling  rankly  of  stale  beer  and  tobacco.  The 
sheepish  innkeeper  supplied  our  wants,  and  my  new 
friend  bluntly  made  his  interrogation. 

"Who  are  the  ladies  staying  at  Mrs.  Lane's.^"  he 
inquired.  Chalmers  did  not  know,  but  amiably  volun- 
teered to  ask  the  missus.  While  he  was  absent,  the 
gentleman  jockey  delivered  himself  of  sundry  opinions 
on  women,  which  seemed  to  him  important,  and  were 
to  me  entertaining. 


Perdita 


33 


"There  ain't  much  in  them,  outside  looks,"  he 
concluded,  "and  most  of  that 's  dress.  They  're  regu- 
larly artful,  you  know." 

Here  was  a  fine  cynic,  say  at  eight  and  twenty ! 
Anxious  for  further  instruction  and  guidance,  I  asked 
questions.  "This  may  all  come  in  useful  to  me  some 
day,"  I  explained  humbly.  "One  never  knows.  I 
gather  you  'v^  escaped  them  so  far." 

"If  I  had  n't  been  careful,  I  should  n't,"  he  told  me 
frankly.  Never  was  there  such  a  frank  person.  "There 
was  a  sort  of  arrangement  about  a  cousin  of  mine  — 
family  arrangement,  don't  you  know.  I  never  had 
any  hand  in  it,  nor  she,  for  that  matter.  It  was  sort  of 
patched  up  when  we  were  kids.  But  I 'm  not  taking 
it ;  nor,  I  guess,  is  she.  At  any  rate,  we 've  never  seen 
each  other,  and  don't  want  to.  I  like  my  liberty,"  he 
was  good  enough  to  explain,  "and  I  don't  buy  a  pig 
in  a  poke." 

At  this  point  the  innkeeper  returned  with  the  halting 
information  that  his  missus  thought  the  young  lady's 
name  was  Fuller.  Why  had  it  not  occurred  to  me  that 
there  were  two  ?  And  that  I  did  not  want  particularly 
to  learn  the  name  of  the  one  whose  name  I  already 
knew  ? 

"Fuller,"  handed  on  my  jockey  politely  to  me,  as 
who  should  say,  "There,  now,  are  you  satisfied 

Of  course  I  was  not,  but  I  seemed  at  the  moment 
too  bashful  to  say  so.  I  think  it  was  the  audience 
that  silenced  me.  I  was  ashamed,  all  of  a  sudden, 
to  go  inquiring  for  Perdita  like  a  police  ofl!icer.  So, 
to  save  the  situation,  I  smiled  affably,  and  turned 
the  point  on  my  companion  with  a  wave  of  my 
hand. 


34  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"As  we  're  making  out  a  directory,  why  not  include 
yourself?"  I  asked  humorously. 

He  eyed  me,  taking  this  in.  "My  name 's  Eustace," 
he  ground  out,  in  his  slow  way.   "  What 's  yours  ?" 

"Brabazon,"  I  completed  the  directory.  "I  am 
tenant  of  the  Castle  for  the  present,  and  glad  to  welcome 
you  there  some  day,  Mr.  Eustace,"  I  added,  out  of 
civility. 

"Much  obliged.  Look  you  up  some  time,  if  you 
don't  mind,"  he  got  out  unceremoniously,  and  rose. 

At  that  moment  there  passed  the  open  door  into  the 
passage  two  men,  and  one  glanced  in.  Their  footsteps 
suddenly  halted,  and  a  whispered  conversation  reached 
our  ears.  I  moved  out  with  Eustace,  and  passed  the 
two  on  the  way  to  the  entrance.  Their  conversation 
dropped.  When  we  had  got  a  little  way  from  the  door, 
I  happened  to  glance  back.  The  two  stood  now  in  the 
sunlight  before  the  inn,  and  were  staring  after  us ;  and 
one  of  them  I  recognized  as  the  short  fair  man  I  had 
seen  on  the  shore  that  morning.  His  companion  made 
a  step  or  two  as  if  to  hurry  in  our  direction,  but  the 
little  man's  hand  suddenly  checked  him. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  DEATH  WATCH 

1 REACHED  the  Castle  between  five  and  six  o'clock 
and  spent  some  time  in  exploring  the  orchard  and 
the  copse.  Here  I  was  sought  by  Jackman  with  the 
news  that  a  gentleman  had  called  to  inquire  if  he  might 
look  over  the  picture-gallery. 

''Did  Sir  Gilbert  allow  that?''  I  asked  him. 
''Yes,  sir;   he  made  no  objections,  provided  they 
were  respectable,"  he  answered. 

"Maintain  Sir  Gilbert's  rule,"  I  said,  dismissing  him 
and  the  subject. 

The  stranger  was  not  gone,  I  gathered,  on  my  return 
to  the  house,  but  I  went  straight  to  my  own  room  and 
made  some  notes  that  had  occurred  to  me  in  the  course 
of  my  solitude.  Here  again  Jackman  intruded  on  me. 
There  was  another  gentleman,  —  this  time  to  see  me. 
I  threw  down  my  pen  in  chagrin. 

"What  name?"  I  asked,  wondering  if  some  neigh- 
bor had  called. 

Jackman 's  silver  salver  held  a  card. 
"Mr.  Edward  Joyce,"  I  read.    "I  know  no  Joyce, 
and  there's  no  address.   However,  show  him  in." 

The  moment  he  entered,  I  knew  him  for  the  second  of 
the  two  men  I  had  seen  at  the  "Feathers."  I  gave  him 
good  afternoon  shortly  and  awaited  his  communication. 
He  was  sleek  mannered,  and  insinuating,  and  was 
elegantly  clad  in  a  dark  lounge  suit. 


36 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"Pray  excuse  me,  sir,"  he  began  cerem-pniously. 
"But  it  is  my  duty  to  leave  this  with  you." 

He  took  something  from  his  pocket  and  held  it  out. 
I  stared. 

"What  is  it.^"  I  asked,  all  unsuspecting.  I  had  a 
vague  notion  that  I  had  before  me  some  commercial 
traveller  with  samples,  or  some  wine-merchant's  tout. 
He  placed  the  paper  in  my  hands,  and  I  opened  it, 
while  he  took  up  his  hat  and  made  preparations  for 
immediate  departure.   My  voice  arrested  him. 

"Stay,  what  the  devil  is  this?"  I  asked.  "I'm  not 
Sir  Gilbert  Norroy." 

"You  will  find  it  all  correct,  sir,"  he  said,  closing 
his  bag  with  a  snap,  and  as  if  deprecating  my 
outbreak. 

"But,  damn  it,  I  tell  you  I'm  not  Sir  Gilbert,"  I 
said,  with  some  impatience. 

He  looked  at  me  non-committally.  I  glanced  again 
at  the  amazing  document,  which  was  no  other  than  a 
writ  for  eight  hundred  pounds. 

"Do  you  understand  .^"  I  asked  sharply. 

"'Yes,  sir.  I  understand  you  to  deny  that  you  are 
6ii  Gilbert  Norroy,"  he  said  evenly.  "I  have  carried  out 
my  instructions,  and  much  regret  the  necessity.  And 
now  I'll  wish  you  good  afternoon,  sir." 

"Look  you  here,  my  good  sir,"  said  I,  aggravated 
into  anger  by  his  obvious  incredulity.  "This  requires  a 
little  more  explanation  than  you  have  given.  You 
bring  me  a  writ  for  eight  hundred  pounds  and  thrust  it 
into  my  hands  on  the  supposition  that  I  am  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy.  I  tell  you  that  I  am  not.  This  is  Sir  Gilbert's 
property,  of  which  I  am  tenant  for  a  few  months.  My 
name  is  Brabazon." 


The  Death  Watch  37 


For  the  first  time  he  looked  a  little  disconcerted. 

"Brabazon  !"  he  repeated  weakly. 

*'Now,  who  are  you,"  I  went  on,  *'to  make  this 
egregious  blunder,  which  any  one  in  the  place  could 
have  prevented  you  making,  if  you  had  asked  a  simple 
question?" 

"I  represent  the  solicitors  who  are  acting  for  th  — 
for  the  creditor,"  he  said  rather  awkwardly. 

"Then  let  me  recommend  you,  Mr.  Joyce,  in  all 
friendliness,  to  go  back  to  your  employers,"  I  said, 
"and  bid  them  be  more  careful,  if  they  do  not  want 
to  face  an  action  for  damages.    Good  afternoon." 

He  hesitated,  lifted  his  hat  and  bag,  hesitated  again, 
and  looked  at  me. 

"You  are  an  unbelieving  dog,  Mr.  Joyce,"  I  said, 
shaking  my  head  at  him ;  "  but  they  say  an  Englishman 
never  knows  when  he  is  beaten,  and  I  suppose  I  ought 
to  respect  that  crass-headedness.  Well,  will  you  oblige 
me  by  ringing  that  bell  ?   Thank  you." 

"I'm  sorry,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Joyce,  as  he  waited.  "But 
my  instructions  were  very  explicit." 

Jackman  arrived  at  the  signal.  "  Jackman,"  said  I, 
"this  gentleman  has  got  it  into  his  foolish  noddle  that 
I  am  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy.  Would  you  be  good  enough 
to  tell  him  who  I  am." 

"Mr.  Brabazon,  sir,"  said  Jackman  promptly,  but 
with  no  special  enthusiasm. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Joyce,  pray  do  not  let  me  delay 
you,"  I  went  on.  "I've  no  doubt  you  have  to  catch 
a  train." 

He  backed  out  awkwardly,  with  a  stuttered  apology, 
and  I  went  to  the  window  and  watched  him  go.  As 
he  passed  out,  I  heard  the  descending  steps  of  some  one 


38  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


in  the  hall,  and  Jackman  arrived  to  shut  the  door 
politely  on  me. 

*'The  gentleman  who  was  looking  at  the  pictures  is 
going,  sir,"  he  said  in  explanation,  as  he  closed  him- 
self out  in  the  hall  to  send  off  the  stranger.  The  stranger 
departed  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Joyce.  I  rang  the  bell  again. 

"Who  was  the  visitor.^"  I  demanded  of  Jackman, 
when  he  came.  He  returned  from  the  hall  with  a  card, 
which  was  inscribed  ''Mr.  A.  C.  Naylor,"  with  the  name 
of  a  reputable  London  club. 

I  had  been  in  Norroy  Castle,  you  will  remember,  only 
twenty  "four  hours,  and  the  current  events  had  roused 
suspicions  in  me.  There  w^as  the  attempted  burglary; 
there  was  the  note-book ;  there  was  this  odd  mistake  of 
the  solicitor's  clerk.  But  it  was  the  note-book  that  was 
in  my  mind  at  this  moment.  I  leap  to  conclusions 
easily,  perhaps  too  lightly ;  but  at  least  it  is  more  amus- 
ing than  waiting  to  be  poked  up  with  a  pole.  This 
Mr.  Naylor  had  outstayed  the  light,  which  no  self- 
respecting  picture  should  endure.  And  what  was  there 
familiar  in  the  cock  of  his  head  ?  At  any  rate,  I  w^ould 
wrest  all  from  life  that  life  was  disposed  to  offer,  and  I 
cared  not  a  dump  for  dinner.  I  clapped  on  my  cap  and 
bolted  after  the  stranger,  just  the  moment  that  his 
identity  flashed  on  me.  I  knew  that  Homburg  hat  now, 
set  so  elegantly  askew  with  the  correct  tip.  It  was 
worn  by  the  man  whom  I  had  seen  as  I  drove  up  to  the 
gates  of  the  Castle  on  the  previous  evening.  My  mind 
connected  him  with  the  note-book  with  a  huge  interro- 
gation —  inconsequently,  thank  Heaven.  I  ran  after 
him. 

Once  out  in  the  open,  I  took  to  the  grass  and  sped 
away  in  the  direction  of  the  gates.    The  light  was 


The  Death  Watch  39 


failing,  as  I  have  indicated,  but  everything  was  still 
clearly  visible  and  would  be  so  for  an  hour.  I  had  the 
regiment  of  chestnuts  betwixt  me  and  the  drive,  and 
so  broke  into  the  meadow  which  ended  my  domain  on 
that  side,  still  keeping  under  the  trees.  When  I  reached 
the  gates,  Mr.  Naylor  had  already  issued  and  v/as  going 
down  the  lane.  But  here  I  was  brought  up  by  an  abrupt 
chain  of  new  thoughts;  for  he  was  descending  in  a 
leisurely  manner  in  the  company  of  Mr.  Joyce  ! 

This  was  an  association  that  even  my  flighty  sus- 
picions had  not  reached.  Yet  I  will  admit  it  opened  a 
world  of  bright  possibilities  to  me.  I  was  seized  with 
simultaneous  rage  and  delight,  and  I  began  to  track 
this  pair  like  a  panther.  It  was  comparatively  easy  to 
keep  beyond  eyeshot  of  them  in  this  meandering, 
curving  lane,  and  tracked  and  tracker  arrived  at  the 
village  without  disturbance.  The  two  men  sought  the 
"Feathers,"  and  after  a  little  interval  I  followed  them. 
The  first  person  on  whom  my  eyes  alighted  was  Mr. 
Eustace,  burying  his  long  nose  in  a  tankard. 

"Hulloa!"  he  saluted  me.  "Have  a  drink."  I 
declined,  with  a  little  distance  in  my  voice,  which  he 
heeded  not  at  all.  "How  are  the  ladies  ?"  he  inquired 
casually,  as  if  he  would  suggest  that  I  had  been  with 
them  ever  since  we  parted  company;  adding,  "It  's 
infernally  slow,  is  n't  it  .^" 

If  it  was  so  "slow,"  I  wondered  why  he  was  staying 
here,  apparently  as  a  summer  visitor,  but  I  was  naturally 
too  polite  to  express  my  thoughts.  However,  I  was  not 
giving  Mr.  Eustace  much  of  my  attention ;  it  was  Mr. 
Naylor  and  Mr.  Joyce  who  excited  me. 

"Is  a  Mr.  Naylor  staying  here?"  I  asked  the 
landlord  plumply. 


40  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Eustace  was  raising  his  tankard,  and  at  my  question 
he  lowered  it  again,  and  stared  at  me. 

"No,  sir,"  said  the  innkeeper,  after  due  deliberation. 

"Is  a  Mr.  Joyce       I  asked,  with  further  bluntness. 

Eustace  betrayed  no  interest.  "No,  sir,"  again  said 
the  man. 

"They  both  came  in  just  now,"  I  persisted,  nodding 
across  the  passage. 

Eustace's  gaze  followed  my  finger,  and  remained 
there  with  its  customary  deliberation. 

"Ah,  friends  of  Mr.  Home's,  perhaps,  sir,"  said  the 
landlord.   "He  had  some  come  from  Fairburn." 

Friends  of  Mr.  Home's.  I  had  not  got  very  far.  Who 
was  Mr.  Home.  I  had  my  mental  eye  on  the  little  fair 
man  with  blue  eyes,  and  his  head  deep  in  his  shoulders. 
Eustace  was  whistling  cheerily.  I  got  up,  and  was  going 
out,  when  the  door  of  the  private  room  across  the  way 
opened. 

"Landlord  !"  called  a  voice,  a  cultivated,  somewhat 
effeminate  voice. 

The  landlord  bustled  aw^ay  to  his  guest.  "That's 
Naylor,"  said  I,  confidentially  to  Eustace. 

He  winked  at  me.  "  Damned  popinjay !  "  he 
said. 

I  did  n't  know.  I  had  no  definite  notion  about  Mr. 
Naylor,  but  when  the  innkeeper  returned,  he  kindly 
indulged  our  curiosity,  perhaps  remembering  my 
questions. 

"That  gentleman  's  going  to  stay  to-night.  It  is 
Mr.  Naylor,"  he  communicated.  "T'other 's  going  off 
to  catch  the  9.30." 

"T'other,"  I  took  to  mean  Mr.  Joyce.  It  was  all  very 
simple,  no  doubt,  and  I  had  already  spent  my  interest 


The  Death  Watch  41 


along  with  my  suspicion.  I  bade  Eustace  and  the  inn- 
keeper good  night,  and  arrived  at  the  Castle  as  night 
fell.  Then  I  did  my  best  with  a  belated  dinner,  for 
which  Mrs.  Jackman  had  done  her  best. 

Jackman  explained  this  to  me  humbly,  and  I 
apologized. 

"The  evening  was  so  beautiful,  and  the  country  is  so 
lovely,"  I  said;  and  then  I  added,  "Did  Sir  Edmund 
always  live  here?" 

"I  believe  so,  sir,"  said  Jackman.  "But  I  never  was 
here  until  after  his  death.  Sir  Gilbert  was  my  master, 
sir;  Mr.  Gilbert,  as  he  was  then,  before  his  uncle 
died." 

"  Sir  Edmund  was  unmarried  "  I  asked. 

"Yes,  sir,  rather  a  recluse,  as  they  call  it,"  explained 
Jackman;  "a  gentleman  fond  of  books,  though,  and 
pictures." 

I  remembered  the  gallery  again.  "Those  jewels  and 
the  plate  ought  to  have  been  sent  long  ago  to  safe 
custody,"  I  declared. 

"Yes,  sir,"  agreed  Jackman.  "Sir  Edmund  liked 
to  have  them  on  the  premises,  sir.  'Twas  his  'obby. 
They're  family  heirlooms,  though  the  estate  isn't 
entailed." 

I  was  in  the  mood  for  investigations  into  the  Norroy 
family,  and  after  my  meal  I  explored  the  library.  I 
think  I  almost  hoped  for  a  repetition  of  the  alarm  of  the 
previous  night.  But  it  was  quiet  enough  and  silent,  and 
my  candle  illumined  but  a  patch  of  its  unruffled  dark- 
ness. I  rambled  from  bookcase  to  bookcase,  quarrying 
with  my  eyes.  The  shelves  provided  a  sort  of  dado  to 
the  gallery  throughout,  rising  to  the  height  of  some 
six  feet;  and  over  these  the  pictures  were  hung  upon 


42  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


the  walls.  But  at  the  further  end,  where  the  door  into 
the  strong-room  showed,  there  were  no  pictures,  and  the 
bookcases  had  run  into  bays  in  which  one  might  shelter 
from  the  rest  of  the  room  in  imperfect  light  and  book- 
worm comfort.  But  I  had  not  traversed  the  whole 
gallery  as  far  as  this,  when  I  wearied  of  my  task,  and, 
pausing  before  a  little  nest  of  topography,  took  out  a 
volume  with  a  pertinent  title  —  "The  Inlets  of  Devon." 
It  was  a  shabby,  faded  book,  published  in  the  sixties, 
but  I  bore  it  away  to  inspect  in  company  with  two  or 
three  of  its  neighbors.  The  glorious  May  weather  had 
rendered  my  fire  unnecessary,  but  I  sat  for  some  time 
over  my  tobacco  ere  retiring,  and  dipped  into  the 
volumes.  There  was  some  matter  of  local  interest  in 
the  book  I  have  named,  which  included  an  account  of 
the  Southington  inlet  with  a  brief  note  on  Norroy  Castle. 
The  range  of  that  coast  is  pierced  with  many  indenta- 
tions, all  offering  promise  to  the  romantic  lover  of 
scenery.  I  know  of  no  coast-line  so  attractively  broken 
as  the  shore  of  South  Devon.  But  at  Southington  we 
were  even  more  picturesquely  retired  than  any  of  our 
neighbors,  recluses  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the 
busy  ports  and  watering-places.  Our  little  village  in 
its  isolation  confronts  and  claims  its  own  native  sea, 
exercising  an  air  of  proprietorship  which  none  can 
dispute,  and  indeed  which  there  is  none  to  dispute, 
unless,  perhaps,  it  be  the  little  hamlet  of  the  Point. 
And  so,  according  to  my  guide-book,  this  tract  of 
country  had  been  notorious  once  as  a  theatre  for  the 
operations  of  smugglers.  ''To  that  illicit  trade," 
said  the  writer,  "its  inaccessibility  and  loneliness  no 
less  than  the  opportunity  of  its  foreshore  gave  tempta- 
tions ;  and  it  was  reputed  that  the  neighboring  gentry 


The  Death  Watch  43 


winked  at  the  freebooters,  if  they  did  not  actually 
participate  with  them,  as  sometimes  happened  during 
the  eighteenth  century." 

I  could  quite  conceive  of  the  estuary  as  a  charming 
place  to  run  a  cargo,  and,  if  my  guide  was  correct,  the 
Norroys  of  the  Castle  had  tapped  many  a  keg  of 
smuggled  brandy,  and  strutted  in  handsome  silks  that 
had  paid  no  tribute  to  King  George.  The  Norroys  I 
had  already  had  the  curiosity  to  look  up  in  a  volume 
of  Debrett,  while  in  town.  The  title  had  been  bought, 
compulsorily  no  doubt,  from  James  I,  when  he  was 
seized  of  his  bright  idea  for  raising  money,  and  had 
descended  in  a  long  and  undistinguished  line  to  my 
landlord,  Sir  Gilbert.  So  far  as  I  could  discover,  the 
family  had  never  emerged  into  notice  but  once,  and  that 
was  when  the  seventh  baronet,  who  had  entered  the 
army,  displayed  gallantry  in  the  wars,  which  no  doubt 
accounted  for  the  gold  plate  mentioned  by  Jackman. 
Otherwise  the  Norroys  lived  and  died  unknown  to 
fame,  country  squires,  hard  drinkers,  big  eaters,  and, 
it  seemed,  illicit  traffickers,  deviating  oddly  into  Sir 
Edmund,  the  lover  of  books  and  pictures.  What  had 
happened  since  his  death,  I  could  only  surmise,  but  I 
had  heard  rumors,  through  an  acquaintance,  of  a 
young  man  who  had  "gone  the  pace."  Probably  then, 
content  with  that  single  deviation,  the  family  had 
resumed  itself  and  its  level.  But  as  I  had  never  seen 
my  landlord,  and  only  dealt  through  his  solicitors  in 
Chancery  Lane,  my  surmise  was  but  an  hypothesis. 

The  Norroys  in  turn  ceased  to  interest  me,  and  I 
yawned,  and  looked  at  the  clock.  It  was  still  early, 
but  I  was  tired  with  the  strong  sea  air  and  my  exercise 
during  the  day   and  so  I  went  to  bed,  armed  with  a  book 


44  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


against  emergencies.  Yet  I  found  myself  unlikely  to 
require  that,  so  sleepy  was  I.  Having  undressed,  I 
lay  down,  and,  I  believe,  should  have  fallen  asleep 
forthwith,  had  it  not  been  for  what  I  imagined  at  first 
to  be  the  ticking  of  my  watch.  At  least  it  merged  in  my 
ear  with  that  sound,  only  seeming  to  come  louder  when 
my  head  was  on  the  pillow.  I  might  even  so  have  gone 
off,  had  it  recurred  as  methodically  as  the  beat  of  the 
watch;  but  suddenly  it  stopped,  and  thus  arrested  my 
attention.  I  wondered,  flung  up  my  head,  and  listened. 
The  watch  on  the  dressing-table  ticked  on  comfortably 
and  dully  and  my  head  resumed  the  pillow.  I  was  doz- 
ing off,  when  again  the  noise  started,  and  this  time 
somewhat  louder,  but  now  altogether  refusing  connec- 
tion with  the  humble  watch.  I  rose  and  listened.  The 
noise  ceased,  and  I  lay  back  to  hear  it  continue.  Tick  ! 
Tick  !  Tick  !  And  then  ensued  silence.  I  got  up  once 
more,  and  gazed  about  the  room  for  a  clock  which 
might  somehow  explain  the  sounds.  But  nothing  of  the 
sort  was  visible.  I  went  to  the  window  and  thrust  open 
a  casement  wider,  parting  the  curtains,  and  letting  in 
the  fresh  night  air.  The  sea  mourned  on  the  shingle  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  away,  and  the  light  of  a  steamer 
moving  homeward  up  the  Channel  picked  out  the 
darkness. 

I  went  to  bed  again,  and  the  tick  repeated  itself 
mechanically,  monotonously.  I  was  annoyed  and 
aggravated.  What  on  earth  was  it  ?  I  knelt  down  and 
put  my  ear  to  the  floor,  and  seemed  to  hear  it  dulled 
and  distant.  Then  I  got  into  bed  again  and  it  grew 
almost  sonorous.  I  set  my  ears  to  the  wall  and  it 
had  swollen  in  volume.  Ah,  I  thought  to  myself,  here 
is  the  explanation. 


The  Death  Watch  45 


As  I  turned,  almost  satisfied,  footsteps  sounded  out- 
side in  the  passage,  soft,  list-slippered  footsteps.  I 
abandoned  my  riddle  to  the  winds  and  sprang  to  the 
door.   If  this  were  my  burglar  again  —  ! 

But  it  was  only  Jackman,  solemnly  and  softly  doing 
the  rounds  ere  he  retired.  He  was  more  alarmed  than 
I,  and,  as  usual,  was  profuse  with  his  apologies;  after 
last  night  he  had  considered  it  advisable  to  see  that  all 
was  well. 

I  commended  his  excess  of  zeal  and  called  his 
attention  to  my  mystery.  He  lay  on  the  bed  reluctantly, 
and  with  the  embarrassment  of  a  good  servant  who  is 
made  to  take  a  liberty;  and  he  listened.  Then  he  put 
his  ear  to  the  wall,  on  my  invitation. 

"It's  the  death-tick!"  he  announced,  with  a  fallen 
jaw.  For  the  moment  Jackman  looked  human,  a 
creature  scared  and  anxious. 

"Nonsense!"  said  I. 

"It's  the  death- tick,  sir,"  he  repeated.  "Mrs. 
Jackman  heard  it  when  her  mother  died." 

"Well,  neither  you  nor  I  are  going  to  die,"  I  said 
cheerfully.  "I'll  tell  you  really  what  it  is;  it's  the 
sound  of  a  clock  conveyed  through  the  conducting  wall. 
Quite  an  ordinary  phenomenon.  Is  there  a  clock  up- 
stairs ?" 

"In  the  gallery,  sir  asked  Jackman,  and  added  his 
answer,  "Yes,  sir,  I  wind  it  up  every  week." 

"Eureka  !"  I  cried  triumphantly.  "Jackman,  we've 
hit  it.  The  sound  comes  down  some  sensitive  passage- 
way in  the  old  wall.   That's  it." 

Jackman  did  not  look  convinced ;  I  could  see  he  had 
fastened  his  fancy  on  the  death-tick.  I  dismissed  him 
and  went  to  bed.   I  was  nearly  asleep  when  I  suddenly 


46  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


sat  up  with  a  thought.  Why  should  the  clock  up-stairs 
beat  intermittently?  Why  should  it  vary  its  time? 
And  why  should  it  vary  also  its  volume  ?  What  a  fool 
I  had  been  to  think  I  had  the  solution !  Was  it  after 
all  the  death-watch  in  the  wall  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  GODDESS  IN  THE  CAR 

OF  course  the  death-watch  solution  of  the  riddle  did 
not  prevail  in  the  light  of  morning.  In  what 
small  proportions  do  the  phenomena  of  the  night  appear 
when  viewed  in  the  life  of  the  day !  No  sound  was 
audible  in  the  wall  when  I  awoke,  and  the  perplexities 
it  had  engendered  stole  away  like  the  Arabs  with  their 
folded  tents  when  the  sun  was  up.  To  breathe  that 
air  infected  the  blood  with  gayety ;  the  sea  laughed 
now  upon  the  shingle,  and  the  full  chorus  of  the  vernal 
birds  occupied  the  garden  stalls.  I  could  distinguish 
them  all,  thrush  and  robin  and  blackbird,  the  tits  and 
the  warblers,  and  afar  that  ghost  of  a  voice,  the  cuckoo's, 
plaintive  amid  the  elms.  I  bathed  and  dressed  and 
breakfasted,  and  wandered  on  the  sward  by  the  tangled 
orchard,  now  full  of  white  and  pink  apple  blossoms, 
only  to  be  interrupted  by  Jackman's  report  of  a  visitor. 
I  ejaculated. 

"What  sort  of  man  I  asked,  looking  at  the  card, 
which  registered  the  name  of  "Mr.  Peter  Toosey." 

Jackman  hesitated.  "A  gentleman  about  forty,"  he 
said. 

He  would  commit  himself  to  nothing  else,  beyond, 
"He  looks  something  like  an  artist,  sir." 

Very  well ;  I  would  see  him,  though  I  cursed  him  for 
the  interruption  of  a  pleasant  train  of  thought.  The 


48 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


man  was,  as  Jackman  said,  of  forty  years  or  so,  had  a 
short  oval  face,  with  high  cheek-bones,  a  mass  of 
rather  long  hair,  a  drooping  moustache,  and  a  watchful, 
modest  eye.  His  voice  was  of  a  pleasant  timbre,  and 
his  manner  was  at  once  shy  and  furtive,  as  though  he 
feared  a  rebuff.  I  dare  say  my  own  demeanor  sug- 
gested a  rebuff.  His  business  was  put  with  some  awk- 
wardness, but  amounted  to  a  request  for  permission  to 
copy  some  of  the  pictures  in  the  gallery. 

Now  I  will  confess  at  once  that  this  gallery  had 
rather  got  on  my  nerves.  Everything  seemed  to  centre 
round  the  gallery.  The  burglar  had  exploited  the 
gallery ;  I  had  picked  up  the  note-book  there ;  the  man 
in  the  Homburg  hat  had  stayed  in  the  gallery  to  view 
the  pictures  long  after  the  light  had  faded.  And  here 
was  another  man  with  a  desire  to  enter  the  gallery.  It 
might  be  an  accident  that  the  gallery  gave  access  to  the 
jewel-room,  but  I  did  not  think  so.  I  put  some  sharp 
questions  to  him.  Which  pictures  did  he  want  to  paint  ? 

He  hesitated,  stammered  over  his  answer,  and  finally 
admitted  that  he  did  not  quite  know  yet. 

That  raised  my  growing  suspicions  into  a  bristling 
crop.    Had  he  ever  seen  the  pictures  ? 

With  what  appeared  a  singular  cynicism,  he  laughed 
and  admitted  that  he  had  not.  I  turned  from  him  in 
impatience. 

"I  am  only  a  tenant  here,"  I  said.  "If  you  want 
permission,  get  it  from  the  owner." 

At  the  same  time  I  resolved  to  write  forthwith  to  the 
solicitors  a  word  of  caution.  He  appeared  to  be  down- 
cast and  humiliated,  but  once  he  had  left  me,  walked 
briskly  enough  away,  as  if  relieved  to  be  out  of  my 
presence. 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  49 


But  that  was  not  the  last  I  was  to  hear  of  the  gallery 
that  day.  I  passed  a  pleasant  time  out  of  doors,  and 
in  the  afternoon  made  a  second  excursion  on  the  inlet, 
resolving  to  settle  to  work  in  good  earnest  on  the  mor- 
row. As  it  chanced,  I  went  farther  than  I  anticipated, 
visited  a  delightful  wood  across  the  water,  and  basked 
over  a  book  in  the  sunshine.  I  got  back  about  six 
o'clock  and  found  a  handsome  motor-car  before  the 
door.  It  was  in  my  mind  for  a  moment  that  some 
friendly,  or  curious,  neighbor  had  called  to  see  if  the 
new  tenant  of  the  Castle  were  respectable;  but  the 
thought  had  hardly  flashed  through  my  head  when, 
entering  the  hall,  I  became  aware  of  a  magnificent 
vision  in  spring  colors  talking  with  Jackman.  She 
turned  as  the  sound  of  my  entrance  reached  her,  and 
presented  me  a  full,  pale  face,  surmounted  by  a  glory 
of  dark  hair,  a  picture  hat,  and  underneath  these, 
moving,  capable  and  meaning  eyes.  She  swept  towards 
me  in  a  little  rush  that  was  impetuous  and  almost 
proprietary. 

"Is  this  —  Mr.  —  "  she  hesitated. 

"Brabazon,"  I  assisted  her. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Brabazon,  I  was  just  telling  your  servant," 
she  went  on  with  easy  fluency,  "that  I  wanted  to  look 
over  your  Castle  and  see  your  ancient  rooms  and  the 
pictures.  He  was  n't  much  inclined  to  let  me,  but  I 'm 
going  to  appeal  to  the  first  authority." 

Her  voice,  ringing,  sure  of  itself,  with  less  varia- 
tion and  more  intonation,  than  English  voices,  indi- 
cated her  nationality.  I  bowed.  The  gallery  again  ! 
But  this  was  clearly  one  of  those  tourists,  who,  ac- 
cording to  Jackman,  occasionally  honored  us  with  a 
visit. 

4 


50  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

"Most  certainly,"  I  said,  wondering  why  on  earth 
he  who  had  admitted  Mr.  Naylor  without  a  qualm, 
should  boggle  at  this  charming  woman. 

"That 's  nice  of  you,"  said  she,  showing  her  teeth  in 
a  smile.  "I've  driven  over  from  Two  Bridges,  on 
Dartmoor,  you  know,  and  they  told  me  of  this.  It  was 
in  a  guide-book  I  had  and  they  said  it  was  a  queer, 
antique  place,  very  lonely,  and  that 's  my  taste.  So  I 
drove  over  in  my  car." 

She  was  so  gracious,  so  handsome,  and  so  frank,  that 
I  thawed  like  a  frost  in  the  warmth  of  the  sun.  In  point 
of  fact,  I  loathe  a  frosty  manner,  and  can  only  maintain 
one  in  self-defence  for  a  short  time.  I  know  I  beamed 
on  her  and  the  breath  of  a  faint  fragrance,  stirred  by 
the  movement  of  her  dress,  came  to  me.  I  thought  of 
the  brow  that 

"  Looked  like  marble  and  smelt  like  myrrh." 

In  a  sweet  embarrassment,  I  myself  ushered  her  up 
the  stairway  to  the  landing  and  through  the  corridor 
to  the  gallery.  She  had  the  effect  of  occupying  the  room, 
of  its  belonging  to  her,  and  incidentally  of  my  personal 
intrusion.  I  could  not  keep  up  the  air  of  ownership  in 
that  dominating  presence.  Her  very  graciousness  had 
the  significance  of  one  stooping  to  confer  favors  or 
deal  indulgent  smiles.  She  chattered  gayly,  with  many 
questions,  and  in  every  movement  of  her  body  one  was 
conscious  alike  of  her  sex  and  of  her  imperial  claims. 
It  did  not  flow  unobtrusively  and  silently  as  did  Per- 
dita's,  but  rather  demanded  your  attention,  perhaps 
unconsciously,  or  rather  only  instinctively.  It  had  no 
incertitude  as  to  its  rights,  which  one  would  not  have 
dared  dispute.    Such  a  thing  of  magnificence  chal- 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  51 


lenged  admiration,  defied  appraisement,  and  almost 
silenced  criticism. 

I  learned  some  interesting  facts  in  my  round  of  the 
gallery,  most  of  which  concerned  my  guest's  personal 
affairs.  She  and  her  mother  were  spending  the  year, 
perhaps  two  years  in  Europe,  and  she  did  not  know  if 
that  was  to  be  the  limit  of  their  exile.  It  would  depend 
upon  their  enjoyment.  The  matter  of  money  never 
came  into  the  conversation,  and  I  think  it  was  not  con- 
sidered. She  was  enthusiastic  over  old  places  and 
historic  cities,  had  revelled  in  Plymouth,  as  the  starting- 
point  of  her  adventurous  forefathers,  and  was  proceed- 
ing to  eat  up  the  traditions  of  Devon.  She  believed 
they  had  bigger  spaces  than  Dartmoor  in  America,  but 
concluded  that  they  had  n't  back  pages  behind  them 
to  any  extent.  "They  're  just  the  new  magazines," 
she  volunteered.  ''You  've  got  all  the  back  numbers 
bound  and  put  away." 

I  mused  over  this  apt  description,  while  I  indicated  a 
back  number  in  the  portrait  of  Lady  Claire  Norroy. 
She  was  a  handsome  woman  with  a  pert  mouth  and  a 
clever,  mundane  air.  Perhaps  she  somehow  accounted 
for  Sir  Edmund,  apparently  the  only  member  of  the 
house  who  had  broken  with  the  dull  traditions  of  the 
squirearchs. 

My  fair  visitor  expressed  the  opinion  that  Lady 
Claire  had  a  temper,  which  was  possible;  but  I  some- 
how did  not  think  she  was  interested,  for  I  noticed 
her  eyes  sliding  off  down  the  gallery.  She  made  a 
show  of  interest  with  the  next  picture,  but  again 
her  head  was  diverted,  and  the  shafts  of  her  eyes 
slipped  past  me,  as  it  were,  to  some  distant  object. 
And  thus  we  made  our  itinerary,  with  a  sufficient 


52  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


exchange  of  talk,  until  we  approached  the  bottom  of 
the  gallery. 

"What  lovely  old  books!  I  should  just  delight  to 
explore  among  them,"  she  exclaimed,  and  now  once 
and  for  all  her  eyes  jumped  me  so  markedly  that  I  felt 
no  rudeness  in  turning  to  follow  their  direction.  We 
had  all  but  reached  the  bays  of  bookcases  of  which  I 
have  already  spoken;  and  in  the  twilight  of  their 
shadows  I  saw,  to  my  surprise,  the  figure  of  a  woman. 

My  visitor  gazed,  and  so  did  I. 

I  knew  her  at  once,  though  her  back  was  towards 
me,  from  something  in  the  lift  of  that  delicately  poised 
neck,  as  it  rose  from  the  shoulders;  and  then  I  saw 
that  she  stood  in  a  reverie,  as  if  unmindful  of  us,  and 
that  her  gaze  appeared  to  be  fixed  on  the  oaken  door 
that  opened  in  the  centre  of  the  book-shelves  into  the 
jewel-room.  My  companion  frankly  went  forward 
and  stood  by  her  with  her  native  sang-froid,  and  Per- 
dita  started.  The  girls  exchanged  glances,  and  Perdita 
turned. 

"Would  n't  you  like  this  old  room  just  set  down  in 
your  house?"  asked  my  American  visitor  genially. 

Perdita  hesitated.  "Yes,"  she  said  with  a  little 
smile  on  her  lips,  and  then  gave  me  a  decided  but  formal 
bow. 

The  American  took  it  for  granted  that  we  should 
now  move  on  in  company.  I  think  that  remark  of  hers 
was,  in  her  eyes,  quite  as  much  introduction  as  was 
necessary.  Royalty  has  its  prerogatives.  She  kept  up 
a  flow  of  conversation,  partly  addressed  to  me,  and 
though  the  English  girl  said  little,  she  did  accompany  us. 

We  made  the  round,  and  I  offered  tea,  which  was 
accepted  by  the  one,  and  declined  by  the  other.  But 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  53 


the  refusal  changed  the  American  girl's  decision,  not  in 
the  least,  I  gathered,  out  of  any  ridiculous  prudery, 
but  merely  because  a  new  thought  cut  across  the  pro- 
posal and  her  acceptance. 

*'Oh,  let  me  take  you  along,  if  you  're  going  my  way,'* 
she  exclaimed  to  Perdita.   ''I 've  got  a  car  outside." 

Perdita  made  her  characteristic  little  pause.  "It  is 
kind  of  you,"  she  said,  by  way  of  acquiescence. 

It  was  not  till  then,  and  as  I  was  on  the  point  of  losing 
them  both,  that  I  recollected  I  did  not  know  the  names 
of  either.    I  took  a  bold  leap. 

"The  master  of  this  ancient  domain  has  provided  a 
book  which  he  begs  his  visitors  to  honor  with  their 
names,"  I  said  elaborately.  "As  I  am  his  temporary 
custodian,  will  you  be  so  good  — " 

Perdita  cast  a  quick  glance  at  my  face,  and  the 
American  smiled  affably. 

"I  should  love  to,"  she  said  indulgently. 

I  bolted  into  my  own  private  room,  and  rummaged 
among  my  papers.  But  nothing  like  a  book  could  I 
discover.  Feverishly  I  scrambled  my  fingers  along  a 
shelf,  hunting  in  dismay,  and  was  giving  up  the  search 
in  despair,  when  I  brushed  something  on  to  the  floor 
with  a  clap.  I  opened  it,  saw  it  was  scribbled  in,  but 
waited  no  longer  and  ran  to  the  hall,  turning  the  pages 
as  I  ran  till  I  came  to  a  blank  space. 

"Now,"  I  cried  triumphantly,  as  I  set  my  capture 
down  upon  the  table  in  the  hall.  "Sorry  to  keep  you, 
but  I 'm  not  familiar  with  my  new  possessions."  I  had 
taken  a  pencil  from  my  pocket  and  handed  it  to  the 
nearest  of  the  two  girls  with  interrogation  in  my  eye.  It 
was  the  American. 

She  sat  down  and  wrote  in  a  bold  hand  on  the  page  I 


54  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


held  open,  and  rose.  Perdita  followed,  but  hesitated, 
pencil  in  hand,  as  if  reluctant.  She  began,  stared  at  the 
page,  pondered,  and  continued ;  and  when  she  rose  her 
face  was  softly  flushed. 

"My  I"  said  the  American  beauty,  who  had  been 
examining  the  book,  "what  a  funny  book !" 

"It 's  —  it 's  very  old,"  I  said  hastily,  clutching  it  up. 

Her  full  eyes  regarded  it  with  a  twinkling  smile  of 
demure  amusement. 

"The  proprietor  could  afford  to  buy  another,  I  should 
guess,"  she  said. 

They  turned  to  go  and  the  American  put  out  her 
hand. 

"It  was  good  of  you  to  see  me  through,"  she  re- 
marked. "I'd  like  to  come  again.  We're  only  at 
Two  Bridges." 

I  told  her  how  charmed  I  should  be,  and  watched 
them  drive  off  in  the  panting,  luxurious  car.  Then  I 
looked  at  my  book  and  read : 

Christobel  Harvey,    New  York, 

P.  Forrest,  London. 

That  initial  annoyed  me.  Why  not  Perdita,  with  the 
unself-conscious  frankness  of  Miss  Harvey  ?  And  why 
that  false  pride  and  shrinking  from  a  trivial  perform- 
ance ?  Oh,  well,  I  considered,  girls  were  a  puzzle  from 
their  earliest  years.  Hov/  much  did  they  know  and  how 
little  ?  And  a  woman  has  an  amazing  gift  of  ignorance. 
She  can  stare  facts  in  the  face  and  walk  by  without 
noticing  them.  She  "cuts"  facts  that  are  unpleasant 
as  she  would  acquaintances.  She  has  no  intellectual 
honesty,  which  helps  to  keep  her  happy.  And  her 
knowledge  of  life,  if  she  have  so  much,  is  never  realiza- 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  55 


tion ;  it  is  about  on  the  level  with  a  parrot  swearing,  or 
a  child  gabbling  poetry.  The  signiJficance,  the  real 
meaning,  wholly  escapes  her. 

I  don't  know  why  I  indulged  in  these  caustic  reflec- 
tions on  women  as  I  watched  the  tail  of  the  car  vanish ; 
and  equally  I  do  not  know  why  I  was  suddenly  arrested 
in  those  reflections,  by  being  shunted  irresponsibly  on 
to  another  and  most  discomforting  track.  Like  a  flash 
I  began  to  piece  fragments  of  events  together.  Two 
more  visitors  to  the  gallery,  and  I  had  not  so  far  re- 
membered to  be  suspicious.  But  I  was.  Suspicion 
leaped  into  flame.  What  was  Miss  Forrest  doing  by 
the  jewel  door,  and  why  did  Miss  Harvey  display  so 
much  interest  in  an  insignificant  country  picture- 
gallery  ?  Allowing  for  transatlantic  unconvention- 
ality,  there  was  stUl  something,  startling  in  the  abrupt 
way  she  had  made  friends  with  the  English  girl.  What, 
my  suspicious  soul  panted,  what  if  they  were  not 
strangers  to  each  other? 

They  had  gone  off  together.  I  would  have  given  a 
great  deal  to  be  able  to  follow  them,  as  I  had  followed 
Mr.  Naylor  and  Mr.  Joyce  the  day  before.  I  gazed 
hopelessly  at  the  book  I  held  in  my  hand,  and  I  do  not 
think  I  was  even  amused  when  I  saw  it  to  be  a  washing 
book  of  Mrs.  Jackman's.  At  least  I  was  not  diverted 
then,  for  I  was  thinking  of  various  threads  which  united 
instinctively  in  my  mind.  They  concerned  Naylor  and 
Joyce  and  the  burglar  and  Miss  Forrest  and  Miss 
Harvey  and  the  artist  and  —  yes,  I  threw  in  Eustace 
also.  I  seemed  to  be  the  focus  of  a  nefarious  and  far- 
reaching  plot,  and  I  could  not  doubt  at  what  it  was 
aimed. 

I  went  straight  inside  and  penned  a  long  letter  to 


56  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Sir  Gilbert's  solicitors,  indicating  the  nature  of  my  sus- 
picions and  mentioning  some  of  the  grounds  for  them. 
So  much  I  did  to  relieve  my  conscience  and  my  indigna- 
tion; and  after  it  was  done  and  the  letter  posted,  I 
felt  better,  and  went  out  to  enjoy  myself.  I  renewed 
my  acquaintance  with  the  Southington  mariner,  and  in 
his  company  made  excursions  on  the  Channel  with  an 
inspiriting  breeze  in  my  face,  dismissing  the  Castle,  the 
jewels,  and  the  gang  of  conspirators  to  the  winds  of 
heaven. 

During  the  next  two  or  three  days  I  made  a  deter- 
mined assault  upon  my  work.  But  I  will  admit  at  once 
that  it  did  not  progress  very  rapidly.  For  one  thing,  I 
found  I  lacked  some  of  the  books  necessary  for  reference 
and  I  was  delayed  by  having  to  send  to  town  for  them. 
In  the  next  place  I  made  the  mistake  of  thinking  I  could 
work  out  of  doors.  It  is  a  delightful  experience,  but  it 
is  not  work ! 

I  had  a  seat  under  the  umbrageous  waving  pink 
chestnut  and  facing  the  lawn  and  flower  beds,  with  the 
entrance  to  the  Castle  well  in  my  eye  some  two  hundred 
yards  away,  across  an  intervening  shrubbery  of  rhodo- 
dendrons. Nothing  happened  in  the  meantime  and  I 
began  to  feel  a  little  ashamed  of  my  untoward  suspi- 
cions. In  the  distance  I  caught  sight  of  Miss  Forrest 
on  two  occasions,  but  it  almost  seemed  to  me  as  if  she 
made  an  effort  to  avoid  me.  Of  Naylor  and  his  friends, 
I  saw  nothing  whatsoever,  and  the  only  person  in 
Southington  whom  I  encountered  was  Eustace.  I 
should  have  thought  my  manner  with  him  was  chilling 
enough  to  be  obvious,  but  he  did  not  appear  to  notice 
it.  He  was  more  than  common  friendly,  and  pressed 
himself  on  my  company,  despite  my  coolness.  He  com- 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  57 


plained  of  being  bored,  and  I  wondered  that  he  should 
do  so  frankly  when  the  obvious  retort  was  —  why  should 
he  remain  ?  He  had  nothing  to  occupy  him,  and  I 
never  saw  him  reading  anything  but  a  paper  or  a  guide 
to  the  turf.  The  one  thing  he  had,  oddly  enough,  was 
a  sense  of  music,  and  he  played  a  fiddle  with  some 
skill. 

But  I  gave  him  little  encouragement  during  those 
days.  I  was  trying  to  live  in  an  atmosphere  of  my  own^ 
suitable  for  breeding  ideas.  Yet  sun  and  air  and  sea 
and  the  perfume  of  the  countryside  somehow  did  not 
render  assistance  to  philosophy;  they  rather  induced 
vagrant  and  vagabond  and  incoherent  musings,  with 
no  definite  relation  to  my  thesis.  The  sparkle  of  the 
water  brought  no  illumination  amid  my  wandering 
thought  on  "Studies  in  Earth."  It  woke  in  my  heart 
only  wild  yearnings,  passionate  beyond  logic,  and 
dreams  of  enchanted  islands  and  the  long  swell  of 
Pacific  seas.  I  dozed  in  a  charmed  slumber  through 
those  lotus  afternoons. 

On  the  third  morning  I  heard  from  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy's  solicitors;  it  was  one  of  those  abominable 
epistles  which  one  can  only  receive  from  so-called 
business  men,  conveying  nothing  of  sentiment  or  at- 
mosphere, or  anything  but  pure,  visible,  dull,  and 
unimaginative  fact.  "Thanking  you  for  your  communi- 
cation .  .  Oh,  well  .  .  .  "Our  client  .  .  Con- 
found their  client  .  .  .  "  is  not  disposed  to  see  cause  for 
alarm.  .  .  Well,  let  his  jewels  perish  ...  "  Our 
client  sees  no  objections  to  Mr.  Peter  Toosey's  copying 
any  pictures,  provided,  of  course,  his  doing  so  does  not 
interfere  in  any  way  with  your  arrangements." 

I  threw  down  the  letter  impatiently.   Very  well ;  let 


58  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Mr.  Peter  Toosey  come  and  paint  and  be  —  As  I  live, 
Mr.  Peter  Toosey  was  taking  me  at  the  first  part  of  my 
word  at  any  rate;  for  out  of  my  muUioned  window  I 
saw  him  approaching  the  entrance  with  his  slow  pru- 
dent step,  his  infernal  long-haired  head  nodding  on  his 
breast.  He  paused  a  moment  to  admire  the  lawns,  and 
then  he  knocked. 

Mr.  Toosey  showed  no  signs  of  triumph  in  his  de- 
meanor; on  the  contrary,  he  was  more  resigned,  fur- 
tive, and  melancholy  than  I.  He  received  my  (or  rather 
Sir  Gilbert's)  permission  with  humility,  and  expressed 
gratitude. 

"Then  shall  I  be  in  your  way  if  I  come  this  after- 
noon?" he  inquired. 

"Sir  Gilbert  has  given  you  permission,"  I  replied 
with  sarcastic  emphasis.  "You  are  at  liberty  to  come 
and  go,  provided  the  formality  of  knocking  is  attended 
to;  otherwise,  my  dear  sir,  I  take  no  interest  in  the 
matter." 

I  spoke  untruthfully  in  my  wrath ;  I  did  take  interest 
in  the  matter,  but  the  way  in  which  my  representations 
had  been  ignored  was  galling. 

Mr.  Toosey  arrived  and  settled  down  in  the  gallery 
like  a  gypsy.  He  was  there  all  the  afternoon  tUl  the  light 
faded.  I  was  glad  to  see  that  Jackman  paid  several 
visits  to  him,  though  I  was  hardly  prepared  to  endorse 
his  verdict  when  I  questioned  him. 

"He  seems  a  very  nice  gentleman,  sir?^' 

At  any  rate  the  jewels  were  not  mine.  Sir  Gilbert 
might  whistle  for  them  directly  for  all  I  cared. 

This  turn  of  affairs,  you  may  conceive,  put  me  out 
of  humor,  but  it  was  nothing  to  the  next  event.  That 
night  I  thrust  my  window  wide  ere  going  to  bed,  to  en- 


The  Goddess  in  the  Car  59^ 

joy  the  soft  light  of  the  half  moon  in  a  cloudless  sky. 
Instantly  I  was  aware  of  a  shadow  that  fled  on  the 
lawn. 

I  might  have  thought  this  was  but  the  trick  of  passing 
scud  in  the  heaven,  had  not  the  sky,  as  I  say,  been 
notably  cloudless;  as  it  was,  I  knew  it  at  once  for  a 
figure.  I  stood  watching  the  shrubberies  for  some 
time.  Bathed  in  a  faint  light,  as  they  were,  they  might 
have  veiled  anything  —  any  one  —  a  veritable  aimy. 
"And  this,"  I  pondered,  '*is  the  first  fruits  of  Mr. 
Peter  Toosey,  no  doubt." 

I  closed  the  window  and  took  my  candle.  If  Sir 
Gilbert's  whole  Castle  were  rifled,  I  told  myself,  I 
cared  nothing  now.  Yet  on  my  way  to  my  room,  I 
experienced  a  revulsion  of  feeling.  I  do  not  know  that 
I  recked  a  single  straw  more  about  Sir  Gilbert's  jewels, 
but  I  imagine  the  primitive  instinct  of  the  chase  awoke  in 
me.  I  went  down  the  passage  which  led  past  my  cham- 
ber and  out  by  the  door  into  the  courtyard.  From 
these  bowels  of  the  Castle,  it  was  easy  to  get  to  the  back 
parts  to  which  the  tradesmen  had  access,  and  by  those 
channels  I  reached  the  garden  and  the  open  air.  I 
stole  in  the  shadows  past  the  old  orchard  on  the  west 
and  came  out  on  a  grass  walk  that  encircled  part  of  the 
southerly  lawns.  Shrubberies  surrounded  me,  —  laurels 
and  laurustinus,  ribes  and  syringas,  and  lilacs  in  a 
continuous  profusion  of  greenery.  I  moved  noiselessly 
and  suddenly  emerged  into  a  breach  in  the  hedge 
through  which  the  moon  shone.  It  struck  whitely  upon 
me,  and  my  dim  shadow  stalked  before  me.  Simul- 
taneously some  one  got  up  on  the  other  side  of  the 
shrubbery  and  darted  across  the  lawn.  I  flew  after 
him. 


60  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


The  man  ran  with  the  speed  of  a  deer  and  dodged 
into  the  shrubberies  on  the  farther  side,  where  I  lost 
him.  At  the  same  time  I  heard  a  shrill  whistle,  and 
this  was  repeated  and  echoed  for  a  little  distance. 
Evidently  there  was  more  than  one  of  the  conspirators 
at  work.  I  ran  a  little  farther,  somewhat  blindly  in  the 
shrubbery,  and  then  stopped.  I  could  hear  nothing, 
no  noise  of  any  one  running,  nothing  save  the  breaking 
of  the  waters  below  the  garden.  I  had  lost  the  burglar. 
I  hunted  in  the  ghostly  spaces  of  the  lower  garden  and 
the  copse  beyond  for  some  time,  but  I  could  find  no 
trace  of  any  one,  could  hear  no  human  sound.  Irri- 
tably, and  somewhat  perturbed,  I  went  back  to  the 
Castle  and  reentered  by  the  back  parts. 

As  I  took  up  my  candle,  I  wondered  to  myself  if  one 
of  the  gang  had  gained  the  house  during  my  absence. 
But  I  did  not  care.   I  went  to  bed. 

Directly  my  head  was  on  my  pillow,  the  ticking 
began  in  the  wall. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  PERFECTION 

1WAS  now  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  The  solicitors* 
had  discarded  me  and  contemned  my  warnings,  and 
yet  I  had  clear  evidence  of  a  plot  of  some  sort  involving 
the  Castle.  The  question  for  me  was,  whether  I  was 
to  ignore  it,  inasmuch  as  it  obviously  could  not  affect 
me  personally  to  any  extent,  or  whether  I  should  take 
up  the  gage  of  battle  and  run  this  gang  to  earth.  I  had 
only  a  dim  notion  as  to  who  constituted  it,  and  had 
but  a  guess  at  what  it  wanted ;  but,  in  passing  through 
the  picture-gallery  next  morning,  I  scowled  on  Peter 
Toosey  as  he  sat  meekly  before  his  easel  transferring 
Lady  Qaire  Norroy  to  a  second  canvas. 

"It's  a  beautiful  day,"  he  volunteered  tentatively. 
1  threw  an  affirmative  at  him,  and  then  had  qualms  of 
conscience.  After  all,  why  should  I  suppose  he  was  in 
the  conspiracy  ?  I  looked  back,  and  saw  him  nervously 
mixing  his  colors,  and  I  returned,  and  stood  for  a  while 
watching  him. 

"Beginning  with  a  Reynolds?"  I  said  lightly. 
"What  after  that. 

He  nearly  dropped  his  brushes.  "Yes,"  he  stam- 
mered.  "I  thought  of  the  Claude  next." 

"A  change,"  I  suggested.  "Are  you  going  right 
round  the  gallery  ?" 

"I  —  I  don't  know,"  he  stammered.  "You  see,^" 
he  explained  uneasily,  "it's  a  commission." 


62  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Commission  !  Did  any  one  pine  to  reduplicate  the 
modest  gallerj'  of  Norroy  Castle  ?  The  man  was  a  fool. 
I  left  him  to  his  work  and  went  out  into  the  sunlight. 
In  that  divine  air  suspicions  melted  from  me  like 
morning  rime,  and  of  a  sudden  I  experienced  poignant 
remorse.  Why  had  I  suspected  Miss  Forrest  ?  Madness 
could  no  farther  go.  I  strode  out,  on  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  towards  the  gates,  designing  to  go  to  the 
village,  but  when  I  reached  the  limit  of  my  domain  I 
was  checked.  I  had  no  earthly  reason  for  intruding 
on  the  ladies ;  and,  moreover,  the  chances  were  that  they 
were  already  on  some  innocent  expedition  of  their  own, 
beloved  of  women.  I  came  out  at  the  gates  in  this 
reflective  temper,  and  found  a  man  lounging  there.  He 
was  a  rough  fellow,  with  a  big  frame,  and  a  barrel  chest, 
and  he  smoked  an  awesome  cigar.  He  stared  at  me 
shamelessly,  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  went  on 
smoking.  What  was  he  doing  there  ?  He  had  no  look 
of  a  seafarer  from  the  Point,  or  of  a  villager.  I  felt 
certain  that  if  I  turned  my  back  he  would  pop  into  the 
garden.  I  returned  him  his  stare  with  interest,  and  he 
took  this,  or  chose  to  take  it,  as  a  sufficient  introduction. 

"Niceish  bit  of  garden  yours,"  he  remarked,  taking 
Jiis  abominable  cigar  from  his  mouth. 

I  grunted. 

Reminds  me  a  bit  of  Battersea  Park,"  he  went  on 
affably,  in  his  cockney  voice. 

"It's  been  modelled  on  it,"  I  said.  "We  took  no 
end  of  pains  over  it," 

"Ah !"  said  he,  complacently,  without  a  sense  of  my 
sarcasm,  "I  thought  it  was  like." 

"Staying  here  long?"  I  inquired,  intending  more 
aggression  and  designing  studious  offence. 


The  Council  of  Perfection  63 


"P'raps,"  he  said  affably.  "Bit  of  a  'oUiday,"  and 
jingled  his  coins  in  his  pocket  while  he  surveyed  my 
garden.  I  could  do  nothing  with  an  insensate  brute 
like  this,  and,  reflecting  that  he  could  do  no  harm  in  the 
broad  daylight,  I  continued  on  my  way.  Two  hundred 
yards  farther  I  pulled  up,  a  prey  to  misgivings.  Had  I 
been  treating  a  vulgar  but  innocent  fellow  creature 
unjustly  .^^  My  mental  outlook  was  sicklied  o'er  with 
the  jaundice  of  my  suspicions.  I  had  terrified  the  artist^ 
and  probably  incensed  the  cockney.  I  cursed  the  plot 
and  the  burglars,  and  increased  my  pace  down  the 
sloping  lane. 

It  wound  down  the  hill  deliberately,  now  delving 
deep  between  high  banks,  and  now  running  shallowly 
on  the  surface.  Half-way  to  Southington,  it  ran  into 
the  copse  that  opens  here  to  receive  it,  in  a  green  envi- 
ronment of  growing  com  and  grass.  Turning  aside,  I 
admired  the  great  elms,  the  thickening  shade  of  the 
beeches,  and  the  bright  underwood.  And  as  I  stood  so,, 
my  eyes  were  caught  by  a  movement  through  the  bushes. 
Athwart  the  copse  by  a  grass  track  came  Miss  Forrest^ 
the  spring  wind  off  the  sea  in  her  face.  Her  gaze  was 
right  ahead,  as  if  she  walked  expectantly  to  meet  some 
one,  a  smile  opening  her  beautiful  face  like  the  dawn^ 
and  brightening  in  her  eyes,  her  lips  parted  ever  so 
slightly,  budding  with  that  smile.  She  moved  gayly,  like 
a  child,  and  full  of  mere  physical  delight.  I  fell  back  in 
the  shadow  of  the  bushes,  so  that  she  passed  without 
seeing  me.  I  was  smitten  anew  with  pangs  of  conscience;, 
with  self-reproach  and  self-contempt.  How  dared  I  to 
suppose  any  wrong  of  so  innocent  and  lovely  a  creature  ! 
I  would  at  that  moment  as  soon  have  suspected  an  angel 
in  Paradise  of  complicity  in  nefarious  plots.   I  watched 


64  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


her  out  of  sight  through  the  wood,  and  continued  on 
my  way  ashamed.  Two  minutes  later  I  found  myself 
confronting  Miss  Fuller  seated  on  a  fallen  log  under  an 
oak.  I  took  off  my  hat,  and  she  returned  my  greeting 
handsomely,  regarding  me  curiously,  I  thought,  out 
of  her  large  eyes.  She  was  nice  to  look  at,  and  her 
expression  promised  a  fount  of  sympathy,  if  I  knew 
anything  of  woman.  I  took  my  resolution  swiftly  as  I 
am  wont  to  do. 

"Miss  Fuller,"  said  I,  in  a  saddened  and  penitent 
voice,  "I  have  a  confession  to  make,  which  I  beg  you 
will  hear." 

She  stirred  with  interest.  "Indeed  !"  she  said  simply, 
but  I  could  pierce  that  flimsy  veil  of  indifference. 

"Yes,"  I  went  on,  launching  myself,  "I  want  you  to 
make  my  peace  with  Miss  Forrest." 

"Forrest!"  she  echoed  blankly. 

"Yes,  your  friend,  Miss  Forrest,"  I  said. 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  said  quickly.  "You  mean  Miss 
Forrest,"  and  displayed  signs  of  agitation  out  of  keeping 
with  the  circumstances. 

"The  fact  is,"  I  continued  manfully,  "I  have  done 
her  a  grievous  injustice.   I  thought  she  was  a  burglar." 

"A  burglar!"  exclaimed  Miss  Fuller  on  a  high 
crescendo,  opening  her  wide  eyes  wider.  "Good 
gracious  !   Why  —  how  — " 

"My  dear  lady,"  I  said  in  all  humility,  "I  have  no 
excuses  and  no  explanations.  I  merely  confess,  and 
offer  my  apologies  —  to  you  first  as  proxy ;  and  perhaps 
I  may  be  permitted  later  to  own  up  to  the  injured  lady 
herself.    Who  knows  ?  " 

Miss  Fuller  hesitated.  "I  can't  think  how  you  came 
to  make  such  a  preposterous  and  shameful  mistake," 


The  Council  of  Perfection  65 


she  said  at  last,  with  some  asperity  for  so  sympathetic 
a  woman.   "It  was  —  it  was  unpardonable." 

*'Then,  alas  !"  I  began  in  a  lamentable  voice. 

"But  perhaps  Per —  Miss  Forrest  would  forgive  you, 
if  you  are  really  penitent,"  she  added,  with  a  touch  of 
playfulness  that  seemed  coy  and  arch  at  once. 

"With  your  assistance,  my  dear  lady  — "I  said. 

She  had  risen,  and  now  cast  inquisitive  glances  at  me 
again,  as  we  began  without  premeditation  to  walk 
together  through  the  wood. 

"It  has  nothing  to  do  with  me,"  she  protested. 

"Oh,  but  it  has,"  I  urged;  "I  thought  you  were  one 
of  the  gang,  too." 

"Me !"  she  screamed,  and  her  face  flamed.  "Good 
heavens,  how  wicked  of  you  !" 

"You  may  trample  on  me,"  I  said  contritely.  "I 
am  here  for  sentence,  but  you  see  you  are  concerned 
in  it." 

"Whatever  made  you  think  such  monstrous  things 
demanded  Miss  Fuller  sternly. 

"I  have  been  the  victim  of  circumstances,"  I  pleaded. 
"There  is  a  story  to  tell,  which  I  will  tell,  by  your  kind 
indulgence,  to  you  both." 

I  felt  that  this  was  a  very  clever  move ;  I  should  now 
be  sure  of  my  audience,  and  possibly  of  my  forgiveness 
Curiosity  would  hardly  stand  so  gross  a  test,  not  certainly 
in  the  case  of  Miss  Fuller's  marvelling  eyes.  She  con- 
tinued to  walk,  but  said  nothing,  until  she  broke  new 
ground. 

"The  Castle  has  pretty  gardens." 
"Yes,"  I  assented. 

"It  must  be  nice  to  own  such  a  beautiful  old  place,** 
said  Miss  Fuller 

5 


66 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"I  dare  say  it  is,"  I  said.  "I've  not  had  the  chance 
of  feeling  what  it's  like." 

Miss  Fuller  started  and  colored.  "Oh,  no,  of  course 
not,"  she  agreed  hurriedly. 

"But  that  gave  me  an  idea.  "If  you  have  really  done 
me  the  honor  to  forgive  me,"  I  went  on,  "you  will 
further  honor  me  by  condescending  to  mark  that  for- 
giveness by  taking  tea  at  the  Castle,  and  allowing  me 
to  show  you  it." 

Miss  Fuller's  expressive  eyes  testified  to  her  own 
desire,  but  she  exclaimed  lightly : 

"That  is  for  Miss  Forrest  to  say." 

It  was  then  that  we  came  out  of  the  wood  into  a 
meadow  already  lush  with  the  growing  May  grass. 
Regardless  of  injury  to  this,  before  us  was  Perdita, 
sprawling  in  it,  her  hat  discarded,  her  bronze-brown 
hair  tumbling  about  her  face,  and  her  skirts  well  above 
her  pretty  ankles.  Hastily  she  thrust  her  dress  lower 
about  her  feet  as  we  emerged,  and  her  face  flushed 
delicately  pink  for  a  moment.  I  saluted  submissively, 
while,  the  color  slowly  passing,  she  surveyed  us  with 
speculative  eyes.  The  open  joy  had  left  her  eyes,  which 
were  on  me  in  a  sort  of  challenging  reserve.  She  had 
assumed  the  defensive  armor  of  convention,  and  her 
look  unmistakably  demanded  what  I  wanted.  I 
turned  to  Miss  Fuller  appealingly : 

"Perdita,  dear,"  she  said  hesitantly.  "This  gentle- 
man —  Mr.  —  Mr.  —  Brabazon,  wants  to  apologize  to 
you  for  something." 

Perdita  made  no  reply,  beyond  that  of  her  inquiring 
eyes,  while  I  was  only  conscious  of  a  bronze  tress  that 
was  swaying  on  the  white  of  her  neck.  I  came  to  with 
a  start  and  a  rush. 


The  Council  of  Perfection  67 


"You  explain,  please/'  I  said  to  Miss  Fuller  in  a 
whisper. 

"Oh,  no,  it's  your  affair,"  she  said  nodding. 

"But  I  am  unstrung,"  I  pleaded.  "Give  me  a  lead, 
do,  like  a  gracious  lady." 

Miss  Fuller,  good  at  need,  hesitated,  and  confusedly 
yielded.  "Mr.  Brabazon  wants  to  apologize  for  your 
being  a  burglar,  dear,"  she  said. 

"What !"  cried  Miss  Forrest,  looking  from  one  to  the 
other  of  us.  Miss  Fuller  retrieved  herself. 

"How  silly  of  me !  For  thinking  you  a  burglar,"  she 
amended. 

Perdita  still  gazed  in  astonishment.  "I'm  afraid 
I  don't  understand,"  she  said  politely.  "Perhaps  it's 
an  elaborate  joke." 

I  was  constrained  to  take  a  hand  on  my  own  behalf. 
"It's  this  way,  please,"  I  said.  "I  suspected  you  of 
being  in  a  secret  plot.  Miss  Forrest  — " 

Perdita's  face  was  smitten  of  a  sudden  with  dismay, 
almost  with  fear. 

"That  you  were  a  burglar!"  put  in  Miss  Fuller 
breathlessly,  as  if  anxious  now  not  to  be  left  out. 

Perdita's  soft  bosom  of  white  muslin  rose  and  fell 
quickly.  "I  still  don't  understand,"  she  said,  in  a 
lower  voice  that  was  somewhat  constrained. 

"It  is  a  sort  of  story,"  I  told  her,  "and  if  you  will 
forgive  me  I  will  tell  you  the  whole  of  it.  But  mean- 
while I  w^ant  to  make  abject  and  absolute  confession. 
For  a  base  and  horrible  and  unashamed  quarter  of  an 
hour  I  did  think  you  might  be  part  of  a  plot." 

"A  plot !"  she  exclaimed  in  bewilderment. 

"Ah,  that's  my  story.  And  if  after  my  confession 
you  will  deign  to  take  tea  with  me  at  the  Castle,  I  wiU 


68  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


unfold  that  story.  I  think,  on  the  whole,  it  is  really 
worth  hearing.  Of  course  it  would  be  more  worth 
hearing,  if  you  were  still  in  it." 

Perdita  looked  at  Miss  Fuller  perplexedly,  and  Miss 
Fuller's  eyes  signalled  back  something.  Then  her 
charming  smile  captured  Perdita's  face. 

"This  may  be  a  trap,"  she  said,  ''to  catch  us,  or  to 
make  us  commit  ourselves." 

"On  my  honor,"  I  assured  her,  "there  will  be  no  one 
present  save  myself  and  Jackman,  my  servant  —  at 
least  that  I  know  of.  I  can't  answer  for  the  spies." 

"Spies  !"  she  echoed  in  wonderment. 

"That 's  my  story,"  said  I  firmly. 

I  knew  now  I  had  her,  had  them  both  in  fact.  The 
word  spies  sent  a  thrill  through  Miss  Fuller,  as  I  could 
see  in  the  glance  she  wheeled  on  me.  She  looked  at 
Perdita.   Perdita  refused  to  meet  her  eyes. 

"This  afternoon,"  I  appended,  in  my  confidence. 

Perdita  suddenly  laughed.  "I  suppose  we  are  all 
mad,"  she  said. 

It  was  surrender.  I  knew  it.  And  it  had  all  been 
engineered  by  feminine  curiosity. 

"Then  suppose  we  seize  time  by  the  forelock  and  go 
back  now  "  I  suggested. 

Perdita  got  to  her  feet  suddenly.  "I'm  sorry,"  she 
said,  "  but  it  is  n't  possible  to-day."  She  looked  at  Miss 
Fuller.   "We  have  some  one  coming." 

Miss  Fuller  exclaimed.  "Oh,  I  forgot!  How 
dreadful  of  me  !   Miss  Harvey." 

"Couldn't  you  persuade  your  friend  also.^"  I 
pleaded. 

"No,"  said  Miss  Fuller  firmly.  "It  wouldn't  do. 
We  must  go  back  now,  dear.    It's  quite  late." 


The  Council  of  Perfection  69 


I  said  nothing  to  this,  as  the  case  appeared  hopeless, 
but  I  have  the  tenacity  of  a  tiger  when  necessary,  and 
the  avidity  of  one,  too.  Also,  on  the  trail  I  am  a  pan- 
ther. I  Explained  these  characteristics  of  mine  to 
Miss  Fuller,  as  we  went  down  the  lane  together. 
Really  !"  she  said  with  wondering  interest. 

Miss  Forrest  listened  politely,  a  demure  little  smile 
on  her  face.  "But  I  don't  quite  see  —  excuse  me," 
said  Miss  Fuller,  "what  this  has  got  to  do  —  I  mean  — '* 

She  could  not  express  her  meaning  for  embarrass- 
ment. "These  essentially  animal  qualities,  Miss 
Fuller,"  I  explained,  "are  combined  in  one  who  has 
absolutely  no  other  claims  to  notice.  But  unfortunately 
for  those  whose  company  he  admires,  they  obsess  him." 

Perdita  bit  her  lip,  as  if  she  would  thus  refrain  from 
laughter.   Miss  Fuller  looked  more  puzzled  than  ever. 

"How  strange!"  she  said  most  civilly,  but  most 
blankly. 

We  reached  the  bottom  of  the  lane  where  the  village 
opens  out,  and  Perdita  broke  her  long  silence. 
"There  it  is,"  she  said. 

I  looked,  and  on  the  village  green  was  a  motor-car. 
Harvey !  Harvey !  The  name  suddenly  rang  in  my 
memory.  Of  course  I  recalled  her  now.  It  was  the 
name  of  my  American,  and  here  was  her  car.  So  the 
girls  had  struck  up  an  acquaintance,  unless —  But 
that  last  reflection  was  ancient  and  abandoned  history. 
My  heart  plucked  up. 

We  walked  slowly  towards  the  car,  and,  sure  enough, 
the  gracious  vision  who  stood  in  its  vicinity  advanced 
to  meet  us  with  both  hands. 

"Why,  I  was  just  going  to  drive  right  after  you,  and 
hunt  you  out,"  she  declared,  greeting  Perdita  warmly. 


70  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"How  are  you  this  afternoon,  Mr.  —  Mr.  Brabazon  ?" 
she  asked  next,  flashing  her  bright  eyes  on  me  with  a 
winning  smile. 

A  muffled  choking  sound  came  from  the  car,  and 
we  all  gave  it  our  attention.  It  seemed  to  have  run  over 
some  one,  and  a  hapless  fellow  creature,  apparently 
in  dying  con\ailsions,  lay  beneath  those  juggernaut 
wheels.  Miss  Fuller's  large  eyes  opened  wider  with 
horror. 

''Oh!"  she  cried. 

"It's  only  my  new  chauffeur!"  said  Miss  Harvey, 
sweetly.  "He  would  just  try,  and  I  bet  him  he 
could  n't." 

Bet  him  !  I  saw  Miss  Fuller  look  shocked. 

"Wliat  is  he  doing  I  asked,  as  we  approached  the 
car  and  the  wriggling  legs  that  protruded  from  under- 
neath it. 

"I  guess  he 's  doing  nothing  but  swallow  dirt.  He 's 
trj^ing  to  fix  up  some  screws,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  calmly, 
putting  on  her  gloves  again. 

I  glanced  at  the  man  who  stood  by  me;  here  was 
manifestly  the  real  chauffeur,  orthodox  in  his  leathern 
jacket.  \Mio,  then,  was  the  tortured  victim  under  the 
car  ?  The  chauffeur  looked  on  with  a  complacent  grin, 
and  the  ^^igglings  of  the  legs  increased.  An  indeter- 
minate noise,  worse  than  before,  reached  us  from  the 
machmery. 

"That 's  the  second  time  he 's  died,"  I  observed. 

Miss  Fuller  shot  an  indignant  glance  at  me. 

"What 's  he  say,  Inchbold  ?"  inouu'ed  Miss  Harvey. 

Inchbold's  grin  fell  from  him.  "I  —  I  don't  think 
he  wanted  anything,"  he  replied  in  some  confusion. 
"It  was  only  a  sort  of  exclamation,  Miss." 


The  Council  of  Perfection  71 


"I 'm  getting  tired  of  this.  Time  we  got  on,"  re- 
marked Miss  Harvey,  impatiently.  "Can't  you  get 
him  out,  Inchbold  ?  I  guess  he 's  no  good  as  a  mech- 
anician." 

"If  Inchbold  took  hold  of  one  leg,  and  I  got  the 
other,  we  might  manage  it,"  I  suggested  thoughtfully, 
"particularly  if  some  one,  Miss  Fuller,  say,  hammered 
his  fingers  to  make  him  let  go." 

"Oh,  how  perfectly  dreadful!  "  cried  that  lady. 
Miss  Harvey  laughed.  But  ere  my  proposition  could 
be  carried  into  effect,  if  it  had  been  so  intended,  the 
legs  gave  a  final  squirm  and  then  wriggled  forth,  dis- 
closing a  face  all  begrimed  and  greasy,  but  still  un- 
mistakably Eustace's.  I  wondered  now  that  I  had  not 
recognized  those  soft-gaitered  legs.  I  experienced  at 
once  a  revulsion  of  feeling.  What  in  Heaven's  name 
did  this  suspect  here  ? 

He  recognized  me  when  he  got  to  his  feet,  threw  me 
a  perfunctory  nod,  and  turned  his  gaze  straight  on  Miss 
Harvey. 

"I 'd  have  done  it  sooner,  if  the  oil  had  n't  dropped 
in  my  eye,"  he  said.  "Half  a  dollar,  was  n't  it?"  He 
held  out  his  hand  bluntly,  and  Miss  Harvey,  fiiU  of 
laughter,  took  a  two-shilling  piece  from  her  purse  and 
put  it  in  his  palm.  I  scornfully  expected  him  to  touch 
his  cap,  but  he  did  n't. 

"Kjiew  I  could  do  it,"  he  said  cheerfully,  putting 
the  coin  in  his  pocket.  "There  is  n't  much  in  this  car 
business.   H'  are  yer,  Brabazon 

I  burned  with  secret  indignation,  though  his  imper- 
tinence was  ludicrous.  From  the  contagion  of  his 
impudent  presence  I  felt  I  must  withdraw  the  innocent 
ladies.   My  salutation  was  civil  but  distant,  and  I  ad- 


72 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


dressed  Miss  Harvey  deliberately  in  front  of  him> 
begging  her  to  honor  me  at  the  Castle  with  the  other 
ladies.  You  will  perceive  that  this  had  been  my  design 
all  along. 

Miss  Harvey  smiled  graciously.  She  would  love  to ; 
she  had  taken  a  tremendous  fancy  to  the  old  place,  and 
wanted  to  bring  her  mamma  over,  if  she  might.  Of 
course  she  might.  We  exchanged  friendly  invitations, 
and  the  wretched,  thick-skinned  groom  listened  in  a 
boorish  fashion.  It  was  at  least  a  direct  snub  for  him. 
In  the  end  we  all  mounted  Miss  Harvey's  car,  and 
sailing  off  left  the  groom  in  the  dust  of  the  road,  a  dirty, 
smudgy,  unintelligent-looking  object,  to  whom  Miss 
Harvey  waved  an  indulgent  farewell.  He  stood,  staring 
after  us  with  a  dull,  meditative  set  of  his  expressionless 
face. 

"That 's  a  man,"  said  I,  to  my  companions,  "whom 
I  am  persistently  endeavoring  to  avoid.  He  clings 
like  a  burr." 

"Oh,  he 's  great  fun,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  laughing. 

"He  looks  respectable  enough,"  said  Perdita,  kindly. 

"He 's  just  a  treat,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  as  we  hummed 
up  the  lane.  "There 's  no  man  on  the  other  side  that 
would  behave  just  as  he  behaves.  He 's  a  unique 
specimen  to  us.  He 's  an  English  product  only,  and 
can  only  be  caught  in  his  native  jungles.  But  I  like 
him.  He  just  says  what  he  thinks,  and  so  do  I.  It 's  a 
treat  after  some  of  our  fancy  ways." 

"An  old  friend  .^^"  I  queried,  with  what  I  intended 
for  sarcasm. 

But  Miss  Harvey  had  no  ear  for  sarcasm.  "No," 
she  said,  pensively  for  her,  "he  just  came  right  up,  and 
asked  me  about  the  car,  and  said  he 'd  bet  twentj 


The  Council  of  Perfection  73 


horses  against  it  any  day,  with  a  bit  to  spare.  And 
then  he  got  fooling  about  the  machinery,  and  I  bet  him 
he  could  n't  put  a  screw  right  that  Inchbold  was  busy 
about;  and  that  was  all." 

I  was  not  anxious  to  waste  time  on  Mr.  Eustace,  and 
if  I  had  been,  my  thoughts  would  have  been  shunted 
off  him  by  the  sight  of  the  burly  cockney  still  prome- 
nading in  front  of  the  gates.  We  flashed  through,  and 
his  eyes  carefully  sorted  us  as  we  did  so.  He  was  still 
on  guard,  then. 

A  shadow  of  reserve  fell  on  the  ladies  at  tea,  except 
on  Miss  Harvey,  who  maintained  a  conversation  briskly* 
Perhaps  some  conventional  scruple  returned  unbidden 
and  unexpectedly  to  the  others,  a  scruple  with  which 
the  more  licensed  American  was  untroubled.  And  this 
was  one  reason  why  I  .  recurred  to  my  original  device, 
which,  you  will  remember,  was  based  on  a  story. 

"And  now,"  I  said,  in  my  most  preacher-like  voice, 
"the  time  has  come,  my  friends,  for  me  to  redeem  my 
promise.  And  here  begins  the  story  of  the  thief  and  the 
spy,  which,  as  you  have  not  heard,  I  shall  now  proceed 
to  relate." 

"Story!"  exclaimed  Miss  Harvey  with  interest. 
"Why,  that 's  lovely.    What 's  it  all  about .^^" 

"My  tale  may  begin,  it  you  like,  at  the  gates,"  said  I, 
"with  that  burly  scoundrel  who  stared  after  us." 

"Scoundrel  1"  exclaimed  Miss  Harvey.  Miss  Fuller 
breathed  deeply,  and  drew  her  chair  closer,  and  Miss 
Forrest's  eyes  were  interrogatively  on  me.  A  little 
color  collecting  in  her  face,  she  reminded  me  of  an  in- 
terested and  innocent  child,  with  excitement  hanging 
over  her.  I  began,  and  related,  with  some  embroidery 
of  circumstance  for  the  sake  of  art,  the  events  which  had 


74 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


occurred  since  my  arrival  at  the  Castle.  I  told  of  the 
intruder  in  the  picture-gallery,  of  the  dropped  note- 
book stolen  from  my  room,  of  the  visits  of  Mr.  Joyce 
and  Mr.  Naylor,  and  of  the  spies  I  had  found  surround- 
ing the  Castle.  "You  saw  that  man  at  the  gates,"  I 
concluded.    "He  is  one  of  them." 

I  confess  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  embellish- 
ments of  my  art,  the  story  would  have  sounded  a  little 
tame,  and  fallen  a  little  flat.  For,  after  all,  there  was 
not  much  that  had  happened,  and  it  was  rather  in  the 
atmosphere  that  I  smelled  a  mystery  than  in  actual 
facts.  But  in  my  narrative  I  led  my  sympathetic  audi- 
ence skilfully  up  to  the  strong-room,  and  directed  their 
fascinated  attention  on  the  plate  and  jewels.  Miss 
Harvey  emitted  from  her  pretty  lips  what  was  almost 
a  whistle. 

"This  is  stirring,"  she  commented.  "You  are 
having  a  live  time."  And  then  she  looked  at  Perdita. 
"And  you  suspected  her?"  she  inquired. 

I  hung  my  head.  "Temporarily  blinded  by  the 
glare  of  suspicion,  I  blundered,"  I  said.  "Please  have 
some  more  tea." 

"And  where  did  you  think  I  came  in?"  demanded 
the  ruthless  lady,  v/ith  shining  eyes. 

"I  regret  to  say  I  took  you  for  a  confederate,"  I 
said,  with  what  firmness  I  could. 

"Oh!  "  Miss  Harvey's  handsome  face  was  rosy 
bright.  "I  should  love  just  to  be  in  something  exciting 
like  that,"  she  declared  unscrupulously. 

"Have  you  any  theory,  Mr.  Brabazon?"  asked 
Perdita. 

I  shook  my  head  sadly.  "None  whatever.  The 
facts  are  more  or  less  plain.   Burglarious  attempts  have 


The  Council  of  Perfection  75 


been  made  on  the  house,  with,  I  assume,  the  jewels  in 
view.  And  it  would  seem  as  if  the  gang  are  watching 
the  Castle.  That 's  all  I  know." 

"But  surely  you  will  get  the  police  in,"  panted  Miss 
Fuller. 

"There 's  no  doubt  I  ought  to,"  I  answered.  "But 
after  all,  why  should  I  ?  Let  Sir  Gilbert  look  after  his 
own  property." 

The  three  girls  exchanged  glances,  but  I  could  not 
determine  what  thus  passed  between  them.  But  they 
seemed  to  signal  in  this  way  to  each  other,  as  only 
girls  can. 

"And  then  —  I  forgot  —  there  is  the  artist,"  I  went 
on. 

"The  artist !"  they  echoed. 

"Yes,  he 's  up-stairs  in  the  gallery,  painting.  What 
does  he  want  there?" 

"You  said  he  was  painting,"  remarked  Miss  Fuller  . 

"Yes,  but  why  do  they  all  go  to  the  gallery?"  I 
demanded. 

"Really,  I  think  your  suspicions  are  unreasonable^ 
Mr.  Brabazon,"  said  the  lady  severely. 

"Well,  there 's  Eustace,"  I  said  desperately, 
"Eustace!" 

"The  man  under  the  car,"  I  explained. 

"What 's  he  got  to  do  with  it  ?"  asked  Miss  Harvey. 
"You  surely  don't  suggest  that  nice  man  of  being  a 
burglar." 

"I  should  n't  wonder,"  I  said  moodily. 

Miss  Forrest  and  Miss  Fuller  surveyed  me  with 
wondering  eyes;  I  think  my  gloom  was  impressing 
them  against  their  will.  Miss  Harvey  rose,  and  was 
the  first  to  speak  as  she  rose. 


76 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


**Let  us  see  this  artist.  Did  you  say  he  was  up- 
stairs?" 

I  assented.  She  picked  up  the  eyes  of  the  others; 
and  simultaneously  they  made  a  movement  for  the 
door.  I  followed,  feeling  somehow  that  I  had  unchained 
forces  which  I  was  impotent  to  control.  They  were  like 
Miss  Harvey's  motor-car.  They  rolled  over  me  up  the 
stairs.  With  misgivings  I  timidly  brought  up  the  rear, 
while  Miss  Harvey  swept  in  the  van  like  a  conqueror. 

Mr.  Peter  Toosey  was  painting.  He  was  clad  in 
dingy  velveteens,  smudged  with  the  refuse  of  his  palette, 
and  he  was  painting  as  if  for  dear  life.  Miss  Harvey 
greeted  him  with  that  gracious  ease  which  never  invites 
a  liberty. 

"What  a  lovely  Gainsborough!"  she  exclaimed. 

Mr.  Toosey  looked  uneasily  over  his  shoulder  at  her, 
and  his  terrified  gaze  shifted  from  girl  to  girl. 

"It  —  it  is  a  Reynolds,"  he  said  with  timid  truth- 
fulness. 

Miss  Fuller  elevated  her  nose  and  sniffed;  Miss 
Forrest  sniffed;  and  Miss  Harvey  turned  round  and 
sniffed  in  my  face. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  I  said,  and  then  I,  too,  sniffed. 

Mr.  Toosey  painted  harder  than  ever,  laying  on  his 
colors  furiously,  as  if  he  were  working  against  time.  In 
his  agitation,  he  painted  out  Lady  Qaire's  nose,  as  if 
he  feared  she,  too,  would  sniff. 

The  smell  grew  stronger.  "Chimneys!"  ventured 
Miss  Fuller. 

"No;  clothes!  "  said  Miss  Harvey. 

Suddenly  Mr.  Peter  Toosey  leapt  from  his  stool  with 
a  little  yell,  and  set  his  hand  to  his  side.  A  stream  of 
smoke  was  issuing  from  his  pocket.   From  my  place  in 


The  Council  of  Perfection  77 


the  rear-guard  I  hurried  to  his  assistance,  and  between 
us  we  put  out  the  conflagration. 

"I  feel,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  breathing  hard,  as  he^ 
shook  his  fragmentary  pocket,  "'I  feel  I  owe  you  an 
apology.    I  took  the  liberty  of  smoking." 

"If  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  does  not  object,  it  is  not  my 
place  to  do  so,"  I  remarked. 

He  eyed  me  distrustfully,  and  the  ladies,  obviously 
in  some  indignation,  vied  with  one  another  in  comfort- 
ing him.  I  strolled  away,  as  if  the  affair  were  none  of 
mine.  Indeed  it  turned  out  that  it  was  n't ;  for  before 
I  had  examined  more  than  three  pictures  casually,  the 
party  passed  me  on  its  way  down-stairs. 

"Mr.  Toosey  is  going  to  have  tea  with  us,"  explained 
Miss  Harvey. 

They  had  already  had  tea,  and  it  was  my  tea,  and 
more  or  less  my  house,  but  I  had  abdicated.  Appre- 
hensively, Mr.  Toosey  left  the  gallery  under  cover  of 
the  ladies.  It  was,  as  I  have  indicated,  their  affair,  and 
consequently  I  did  not  inflict  my  presence  on  them  for 
some  time.  When  I  did  so,  Mr.  Toosey  was  obviously 
enjoying  himself,  though  he  shifted  about  like  an  un- 
comfortable schoolboy  when  I  entered.  He  had  a 
large  piece  of  cake  which  he  ate  with  some  noise,  in  his 
hand,  and,  balanced  in  the  other,  was  a  drunken  cup 
of  tea.  So  far  as  I  could  make  out,  he  was  explaining 
why  life  would  be  better  for  all  of  us  if  w^e  lived  in  caves 
and  wore  little  or  nothing.  Neither  Miss  Harvey,  nor 
Perdita,  nor  even  Miss  Fuller,  turned  a  hair;  they 
hung  on  his  silly  words  as  if  he  had  been  a  musical 
prodigy. 

"In  Touraine,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  with  an  uneasy  eye 
on  me,  "there  are  wonderful  caverns  which  could  be 


78  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


taken  possession  of  for  summer  holidays,  you  know. 
They  could  be  rented  for  a  few  francs,  and  the  Cave 
Cure  could  be  tried.  You  see,"  he  went  on,  forgetting 
me,  and  warming  to  his  subject  with  a  kindling  eye, 
''how  it  would  revolutionize  all  our  holiday  system. 
Mud  cures,  sun  cures,  grape  cures,  water  cures,  and 
the  slap  cure  would  all  give  way  to  the  Cave  Cure." 

"What 's  the  slap  cure?"  asked  Perdita,  curiously. 

"I  believe  it  prevails  in  Bohemia,"  said  Mr.  Toosey, 
twinkling. 

*'And  all  the  summer  papers  then  would  advertise: 
*  Cave  to  let  —  owner  being  obliged  to  seek  closer 
quarters,'  or  'Try  our  Caves  for  air  and  darkness,'  or 
some  such  auctioneer's  jimmy.  And  you  could  have 
them  labelled  Carlton  or  Ritz  or  Delmonico's,  you 
know.  And  whenever  a  rabbit  came  by,  you  would 
scurry  into  your  burrow  like  winking." 

What  had  come  to  Mr.  Peter  Toosey?  His  tongue 
wagged  on.  I  wondered  if  they  had  put  anything  in 
his  tea.  He  entertained  a  rapt  audience.  And  in  the 
middle  of  it  all,  Mrs.  Jackman  arrived  with  a  pressing 
request  that  I  would  speak  with  her.  We  retired  to  the 
hall,  where  I  found  she  wished  to  know  if  the  ladies 
were  stopping  to  dinner.  I  looked  at  my  watch,  and 
discovered  it  to  be  late,  though  the  serene  light  of  the 
May  evening  had  not  warned  us. 

I  told  her  ''no,"  and  saw  from  her  communicative 
eye  that  she  would  like  to  have  said  more.  But  instead 
she  left  the  ladies  and  got  upon  the  uninteresting  topic 
of  soups,  being  anxious  to  know  if  I  had  liked  my  last 
soup,  and  if  she  should  repeat  it  on  another  occasion. 
It  was  all  very  trivial  and  irritating,  for  I  experienced  a 
strong  desire  to  get  back  to  the  room  to  hear  Mr.  Toosey. 


The  Council  of  Perfection  7^ 


And  so  I  cut  her  short,  and  was  reentering  when  a 
pretty  idea  came  into  my  head. 

I  went  out  into  the  garden,  sought  the  western  wall 
in  the  neighborhood  of  my  own  bedroom,  on  which 
grew  a  straggling  Marechal  Niel  rose.  That  glorious 
rose  is  invariably  the  first  of  its  kind,  and  in  Devon 
comes  particularly  early.  I  culled  three  choice  opening 
buds  in  various  stages,  and  turned  away  to  go  back. 
As  I  withdrew  from  the  shelter  of  the  wall,  I  had  a 
glimpse  of  a  figure  stealing  by  the  back  of  the  Castle 
towards  those  rear  parts  which  contain  the  kitchen 
apartments,  and  even  in  the  declining  light  I  knew  it 
was  Eustace. 

The  apparition  angered  me.  The  fellow  had  mani-^ 
festly  followed  us.  What  did  he  there,  trespassing  on 
my  privacy  It  was  like  his  vulgar  impudence  to  press 
himself  on  company  which  had  shown  him  that  he  was^ 
not  wanted.  But  stay !  Was  it  only  idle  assurance 
that  had  brought  him  to  the  Castle,  or  was  he  come  for 
another  and  a  baser  motive  ?  He  had  vanished  among 
the  shrubberies  at  the  back,  and  I  did  not  doubt  that 
he  was  on  his  way  to  the  gates,  where  his  friend  the 
cockney  was  probably  on  guard.  What  the  devil  did  it 
all  signify? 

I  entered  the  house  in  a  puzzled  and  angry  temper, 
and  was  greeted  by  three  excited  voices. 

"Why  did  n't  you  tell  us  about  the  ghost  ?" 

"The  ghost!"  I  echoed.  I  had  quite  forgotten  the 
estate  agent's  ghost. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Toosey  has  been  telling  us  about  the 
ghost,"  said  Miss  Harvey.  "  Oh,  I  should  love  a  ghost."^ 

"Indeed  !"  I  said  coldly,  wheeling  a  deadly  eye  on 
the  hapless  artist. 


80 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"Mrs.  —  Mrs.  Jackman  told  me  about  it,"  he  said 
lamely.   Mrs.  Jackman's  tongue  was  a  nuisance. 

"Oh,  well,  there's  always  a  ghost,  you  know,"  I 
said  lightly. 

"Oh,  but  it  explains  everything,"  said  Miss  Fuller. 
"It 's  the  ghost." 

She  looked  delightfully  scared  and  awed. 

"It  must  be  the  ghost,"  said  Perdita. 

"It  is  the  ghost,"  said  Miss  Harvey. 

I  sat  down.  "Yes,"  said  I,  "I  am  disposed  to  agree 
with  you.  Your  arguments  are  convincing.  And  that 
being  so,  I  propose  that  we  have  a  ghost  hunt." 

"Ghost  hunt!"  exclaimed  Perdita. 

"Yes;  that  we  keep  watch  together  all  night  in  the 
gallery,  and  see  what  happens." 

"Oh,  heavenly!"  said  Miss  Harvey,  clapping  her 
hands. 

Miss  Fuller  looked  dubious.   "I  —  I  don't  think  we 
ought  to  do  that,"  she  said. 
I  looked  at  Perdita. 

"And  I  think  we  ought  to  be  going,"  she  said,  rising 
cheerfully  to  her  feet. 

It  was  the  signal.  My  guests  rose;  but  at  the  door 
Miss  Harvey  whispered  into  my  ear : 

"He's  a  most  delightful  character,  Mr.  Toosey. 
Don't  you  go  off  with  any  fancies  about  him.  I  believe 
he 's  a  genius.  I 'm  going  to  get  papa  to  buy  some  of 
his  pictures." 

The  evening  fell  as  they  went,  with  Mr.  Toosey 
between  two  girls  in  the  rear  of  the  car.  Jackman  was 
laying  my  dinner  when  I  went  in. 

"Jackman,  have  you  seen  any  one  hanging  about?" 
I  asked. 


The  Council  of  Perfection  81 


"No,  sir,"  he  said,  staring,  and  after  a  pause 
went  on  with  his  task.  His  attitude  seemed  to  ask  an 
explanation. 

"I  saw  a  man  skulking  about  the  shrubberies  be- 
hind," I  said. 

"No,  sir. Indeed,  sir .^"  said  JackmaUo 

"And  what  is  more,  I  recognized  him,"  I  said. 

The  forks  dropped  with  a  clatter  on  the  table  from 
Jackman's  hand. 

"Indeed,  sir,"  he  said,  showing  confusion  at  his 
awkwardness. 

"Yes,"  I  mused,  "and  I  will  be  damned,  Jackman, 
if  I  won't  see  it  through,"  I  said. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Jackman,  now  himself  again. 

And  in  the  diversion  I  had  forgotten  the  roses ! 


CHAPTER  VI 


TO  BE  SUNG  ON  THE  WATERS 

1CAME  to  the  conclusion  that  my  charming  visitors 
were  right  about  Mr.  Peter  Toosey;  he  had  no 
association  with  the  unknown  conspirators.  They  had 
gone  direct  to  this  verdict  with  the  instinctive  decision 
of  their  sex,  while  I  was  obliged  to  base  my  conclusion 
on  dull  facts  and  prosaic  inferences.  Perhaps  Mr. 
Toosey  had  been  alarmed  by  my  opening  attitude,  and 
had  written  to  the  authorities.  At  any  rate  I  received 
an  intimation  from  the  solicitors  during  the  next  few 
days,  stating  that  Sir  Gilbert  would  feel  himself  per- 
sonally obliged  if  I  would  give  Mr.  Toosey  every  facility 
for  his  studies  in  the  Norroy  Gallery.  This  being  so,  it 
was  evident  that  Mr.  Toosey  was  known  to  Sir  Gilbert, 
and  that  his  presence  had  nothing  to  do  with  any  plot 
which  existed.  I  confess  I  was  glad  to  be  relieved  of 
this  suspicion,  for  I  found  my  condition  somewhat  iso- 
lated, and,  not  getting  on  with  my  book  too  well,  I  in- 
clined to  seek  company.  I  spent  some  hours  on  differ- 
ent occasions  with  Mr.  Toosey  in  the  gallery,  and  was 
interested  in  his  combination  of  childish  naivete  and 
weird  knowledge. 

In  those  days  I  had  begun  to  forget  that  I  had  sup- 
posed there  was  a  plot !  For  one  thing,  I  saw  no  more 
of  my  janitor  at  the  gate,  nor  were  any  signs  of  the 
other  environing  sentinels  visible.     The  conspiracy 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  83 


seemed  to  have  collapsed.  Mr.  Naylor  had  vanished, 
and  there  was  no  one  at  the  "'Feathers."  So  I  went  on 
with  my  book,  and  I  idled  in  the  grounds,  now  in  full 
spring  blossom  and  rich  with  the  approaching  summer ; 
and  I  haimted  the  inlet  and  the  sea.  I  became  very 
friendly  with  my  boating  man,  Hawes,  and  enjoyed 
many  an  excursion  with  him.  And  on  several  occa- 
sions I  met  the  ladies  who  were  lodging  at  Mrs. 
Lane's. 

It  was  quite  clear  now  that  Miss  Harvey  had  struck 
up  a  friendship  with  the  others,  for  I  saw  her  motor- 
car pretty  constantly  in  the  village,  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion  the  ladies  were  in  company.  I  had  some 
reluctance  to  press  myself  upon  them,  as  I  observed 
with  chagrin  a  tendency  on  their  part  to  draw  off.  Per- 
haps I  w^as  wrong  in  this  interpretation  of  what  may 
have  been  only  pretty  modest  conduct,  but  I  jumped 
easily  to  that  conclusion.  I  must,  however,  except 
Miss  Harvey  from  this  statement.  Her  attitude  under- 
went no  visible  alteration ;  she  Vv^as  as  frank  and  friendly, 
as  practical  and  as  candid  as  ever.  No  self-consciousness 
checked  her  most  impulsive  or  considered  actions ;  and 
in  gratitude  I  will  confess  that  it  was  mainly  due  to  her 
good  offices  that  I  fixed  up  the  boating  excursion  to 
which  I  now  come. 

The  estuary,  throughout  its  length  a  broad  creek  of 
humming  water,  widens  considerably  at  Southington, 
and  an  arm  of  the  inlet  penetrates  the  opposite  shore 
as  far  as  the  little  village  of  Baring.  It  was  designed 
that  our  party  of  picnickers  should  visit  this  village, 
and  eat  lunch  somewhere  in  the  cool  shadows  of  the 
wooded  shore  encompassing  it.  Miss  Harvey  had  come 
from  Two  Bridges  for  the  day,  her  mother  having  been 


84  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


obliged  to  go  to  London  on  some  business.  Like  most 
young  ladies  of  her  country  whom  I  have  met,  she  had 
her  mother  well  in  hand.  But  she  was  very  kind  to 
her,  and  announced  her  intention  of  bringing  her  over 
to  inspect  the  Castle.  I  warmly  supported  this  pro- 
posal, and  went  so  far  as  to  express  a  hope  that  both 
ladies  would  honor  me  at  dinner  as  soon  as  was  prac- 
ticable. I  gave  this  invitation  not  only  on  account 
of  my  admiration  of  Miss  Harvey,  but  also  out  of 
deep  cunning,  as  you  shall  see.  On  the  day  of 
the  picnic,  which  heralded  in  the  flaming  month 
of  June,  I  recalled  my  lost  roses,  and  I  made  up 
three  elegant  nosegays,  equipped  with  which  I  de- 
scended to  the  village.  The  morning  was  full  of 
cool,  flowing  airs,  and  I  drew  deep  of  the  sea  with 
every  breath. 

As  we  made  our  departure  for  our  point  of  assem- 
blage Mrs.  Lane's  cottage,  I  was  conscious  of  Eustace 
leaning  over  his  rustic  gate  across  the  green,  and 
watching  us  with  interest.  I  think  none  of  the  others 
noticed  him,  for  we  passed  down  to  the  landing-stage 
in  a  pleasant  chatter  of  excitement.  Here  I  offered  my 
tribute  of  roses,  and  was  rewarded  by  cordial  exhibi- 
tions of  gratitude.  Miss  Fuller  pinned  hers  to  the  yoke 
of  her  gown  just  below  her  shoulder.  Miss  Harvey  set 
hers  in  what  I  believe  is  called  her  corsage,  and  Perdita 
inserted  hers  in  her  belt.  I  was  a  little  disappointed  by 
this  distribution,  but  I  will  admit  it  had  a  certain  pro- 
priety, and  at  least  suggested  differentiation  of  char- 
acter. They  say  all  women  are  alike;  but  there  were 
impassable  chasms  between  these  three.  I  liked  to  hug 
the  fancy,  that,  though  the  disparity  of  sex  yawned 
between  us,  Perdita  and  I  were  nearer  akin  than  the 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  85 


others.  She  looked  romantic,  and  I  knew  I  was 
profoundly  so.  Was  not  the  very  flow  of  my  thought 
at  that  moment  witness  to  the  fact  ? 

Once  in  the  free  spaces  of  the  estuary  I  raised  the 
sail,  and  the  sea- winds  swept  into  it  with  a  rush.  Over 
heeled  the  boat  and  began  to  leap  toward  the  distant 
shore.  With  the  tiller  in  my  hand  I  sat  by  Miss  Fuller 
and  Miss  Harvey,  while  the  wretched  sail  obscured  my 
view  of  Perdita,  but  under  the  boom  I  could  see  the 
lemon  gold  of  the  Marechal  Niel  in  her  belt.  I  put  the 
tiller  up,  and  we  bounded  over  the  freshening  water, 
and  cantered  up  the  estuary. 

"I  don't  wonder,"  observed  Miss  Harvey,  "that  all 
your  sea-captains  came  from  this  little  county." 

"Yours,"  I  corrected. 

"I  said  yours,"  she  replied,  appropriating  a  familiar 
joke. 

"Then  ours,"  I  amended.  "Have  n't  you  any  aflBn- 
ity,  and  do  you  not  claim  kinship  with  Drake  and 
Raleigh  and  gallant  Sir  Richard  Grenville?" 

"Oh,  we'll  have  Sir  Richard,"  said  Miss  Har- 
vey, enthusiastically,  "who  feared  neither  don  nor 
devil.  But  I  believe  he  was  just  a  pirate,  you 
know." 

"Dover  is  the  shire  of  the  sea-rovers,"  I  said,  "  and 
pirates  and  plunderers  have  always  been  the  pioneers 
of  civilization." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Brabazon!"  exclaimed  Miss  Fuller,  re- 
proachfully. "That's  an  awful  idea!  I  don't  think 
any  movement  can  prosper  which  is  founded  on  vio- 
lence and  wTong." 

"Sweet  dreamland  faces!"  I  ejaculated  under  my 
breath,  but  aloud  I  acquiesced.   "Ah,  history  is  strewn 


86  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


with  the  bones  of  instances,  is  n't  it?"  I  said.  "What 
is  life  unless  we  perish  for  ideals  ?  I 'm  prepared  to  do 
so  on  the  shortest  notice." 

"I  am  just  chock-full  of  ideals,  I  believe,"  remarked 
Miss  Harvey,  thoughtfully.  And  here  my  Perdita 
joined  in. 

She  had  little  undiscovered  tracts  in  her  nature  that 
delighted  me  when  I  got  a  peep  of  them.  She  was 
capable,  I  had  already  noticed,  of  quaint  breaches  of 
her  demure  reticence,  of  sallies,  of  audacity  such  as  all 
romantic  imaginations  must  make  at  times,  if  they  are 
not  to  be  forever  ridden  on  the  curb. 

"You  are  both  sneering,"  she  said.  "I  will  not  hear 
one  word  against  ideals;  it  is  only  through  them  that 
life  is  worth  living." 

"Precisely  what  I  say,"  I  declared. 

"Yes,  dear,  and  idealism  means  romance,"  said  Miss 
Fuller,  eagerly. 

"And  romance,"  I  continued,  "  means  lo —  " 

Miss  Harvey  interrupted  with  a  clear  peal  of 
laughter.  "Business,  of  course,"  she  said.  "There 's 
no  romance  like  that  of  business." 

"Thank  you  so  much,"  I  said  gratefully.  "You 
just  saved  me  from  sentiment,  and  I  hate  senti- 
mentalism." 

"Do  you  think  it 's  the  same  thing?"  asked  Perdita, 
seriously. 

"It 's  the  same  thing  in  excess,"  I  answered.  "I 'm 
told  that  women's  skirts  are  the  better  for  some  arrange- 
ment which  will  keep  them  clear  of  the  body  —  wires 
or  elastics  —  is  it.  Miss  Harvey  ?" 

"Pray  don't  ask  me.  I  am  quite  ignorant  of  such 
matters,"  she  said  innocently. 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  87 


"Well,  the  contrivance  driven  to  excess  produces  the 
crinoline !" 

"The  crinoline  wasn't  so  bad;  I've  seen  early 
Victorian  modes  look  really  beautiful  in  Paris,"  said 
Miss  Harvey. 

"Do  you  think  that  crinolines  — "  began  Miss 
Fuller,  and,  unexpectedly  realizing  the  ground  was  deli- 
cate, suddenly  lapsed  in  confusion.  I  was  wondering 
whither  crinolines  would  lead  us,  when,  of  a  sudden, 
the  sound  of  a  beautiful  voice  rose  above  the  whistle 
of  wind  and  whirl  of  water.  I  started ;  but  it  was  not 
Perdita.  Miss  Harvey  was  singing  with  amazing  vol- 
ume and  certainty  and  clarity.  And  the  appropriate 
music  had  come  to  her  by  magic.  It  was  Schubert's 
"  Auf  dem  Wasser  zu  Singen." 

The  water  made  a  plaintive  accompaniment  to  the 
words  and  the  melody,  as  her  wonderful  voice  rolled 
through  the  first  verse. 

"  Mitten  im  Schimmer  der  Spiegeln  den  Wellen 
Gleitet  wie  Schwdne  der  wankende  Kahn." 

"Please  go  on!"  I  implored,  as  she  paused  at  the 
end  of  the  stanza.  I  put  the  boat  about,  and  she  came 
up  slowly  into  the  wind,  lapping  on  the  tide.  The  sail 
rattled  and  slatted,  and  underneath  the  boom  I  could 
descry  the  roses  in  Perdita's  belt;  but  her  face  was 
hidden. 

*^  Morgen  entschwindet  mit  schimmemden  Flugel 
Wieder  wie  gestern  und  heute  die  Zeit,'' 

Yes,  let  us  keep  our  to-days,  and  all  times  may  van- 
ish. We  live,  if  you  come  to  think  of  it,  exactly  between 
yesterday  and  to-morrow,  that  is,  between  prospect  and 
retrospect,  and  to  a  healthy  man  the  present  should  be 


88  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


everything.  Yesterday  I  knew  not  Norroy  Castle,  and 
to-morrow  —  no,  ran  my  thoughts,  I  cannot  give  up 
to-morrow. 

The  singer  stopped,  and  then  —  I  do  not  know  how 
it  happened  —  I  was  looking  not  at  her,  but  under  the 
sail  at  my  roses  in  a  belt.  Honestly  I  do  not  think  it 
was  my  fault,  for  she  had  shifted  her  seat  unwisely. 
But  the  bare  facts  are  that  the  sail  cracked  like  a  whip, 
the  boom  kicked,  and  struck  Miss  Harvey  as  she  rose, 
throwing  her  across  the  side  of  the  boat.  She  hung 
there,  half  over  t^ie  water,  from  her  supple  hips  up- 
wards, and  Miss  Fuller  cried  out  in  terror.  The  rib- 
bons of  her  hat  were  deep  in  the  fume  of  the  sea.  If  it 
had  been  an  affair  of  the  boat  merely,  I  could  have 
amended  it  with  the  tiller,  but  she  had  lost  her  balance, 
and  her  feet  rose  even  as  I  took  in  the  scene  and  its 
danger.  I  left  the  tiller  to  take  care  of  itself,  seized  her 
feet  with  one  hand;  and,  leaning  over,  drew  at  her 
arms  simultaneously  with  the  other.  To  this  day  I  do 
not  know  why  we  did  not  capsize.  I  think,  the  tiller 
adrift,  the  boat  swung  about  on  the  other  tack  swiftly 
and  strongly,  and  so  saved  the  situation.  At  any  rate. 
Miss  Harvey  came  inside  again  with  a  little  rush,  and 
floored  me  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

Her  face  was  destitute  of  color  as  I  extricated  myself 
and  her,  and  helped  her  into  the  seat  near  me,  getting 
a  grip  at  once  of  the  wild  tiller.  Then  she  smiled  wanly 
at  me.    "How  strong  and  how  clever !" 

As  I  had  gone  down  before  her  attack,  I  do  not  know 
that  I  deserved  this,  but  I  made  profuse  apologies,  if 
so  be  it  was  I  who  had  been  at  fault.  But  she  was 
honest. 

"No;  I  got  up.    I  should  n't  have." 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  89 


She  shook  her  head  weakly.  Miss  Fuller  was  as  pale 
as  she,  and  more  agitated.  It  was  Perdita  who  came  to 
the  rescue  of  our  shipwrecked  emotions. 

"Have  you  a  flask?"  she  asked  me. 

I  confounded  myself.  I  carried  a  flask  so  persist- 
ently and  so  uselessly  that  I  forgot  all  about  it.  Now 
it  had  its  chance ;  for  this  had  it  travelled  with  me  for 
five  futile  years.  Miss  Harvey  protested,  but  the  "nip  " 
did  her  good,  restored  the  color  to  her  face,  and  evoked 
wholesome  laughter. 

We  reached  Baring  in  due  time,  and  ate  our  lunch 
and  grew  talkative  and  merry.  Miss  Harvey  was  mer- 
rier than  any  of  us,  and  dominated  our  party.  And  as 
we  sailed  back  in  the  late  afternoon,  she  gave  vent  to 
her  satisfaction  in  a  deep  sigh. 

"There  '11  never  be  another  just  so  perfect  a  day  as 
this,"  she  said.  "I  don't  mean  your  presence,  Mr, 
Brabazon,  though  it 's  nice  to  have  you,  but  the  day." 

"Oh,"  said  I,  "if  we  are  being  honest,  it 's  nice  to 
have  you,  too,  but  I  agree  with  you;  the  day  is  the 
charm,  not  the  human  tenants  under  the  canopy.  Do 
you  love  spring  or  summer  best?" 

"The  charm  of  your  summer,"  said  Miss  Harvey 5 
Ignoring  the  question,  "is  that  there  is  so  little  of  it,, 
and  what  there  is  is  good.  If  we  had  old-world  parks 
like  yours,  see  how  our  sun  would  set  over  them  !  Oh, 
I  do  envy  you  your  Castle,  Mr.  Brabazon." 

"Sir  Gilbert  Norroy,  you  mean,"  I  corrected. 

"Well,  it 's  yours  for  a  season,"  she  said  smiling,  and 
the  three  girls  exchanged  glances. 

I  quoted : 

"  *  You  are  mine  for  a  season 
But  I  am  yours  till  the  end.' " 


90  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


We  bumped  gently  into  the  landing-stage,  and  Miss 
Harvey's  agile,  restless  mind  soared  elsewhere. 

"I 'm  going  to  pay  a  visit,"  she  declared.  "Ever 
since  I  heard  of  your  suspicions  of  that  poor  man,  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  prove  you  wrong." 

"I  have  no  suspicions,"  I  told  her.  ''I  am  living  in 
a  fairy  tale.  No  prince  in  a  fairy  tale  ever  suspects 
any  one,  and  he  always  marries  the  right  princess,  or 
else  there 'd  be  no  story." 

"Is  that  so?"  she  asked.  thought  it  was  going 
wrong  that  made  the  story.  I  don't  like  novels  in  which 
the  path  of  true  love  runs  smooth." 

"What  is  true  love?"  I  asked  dramatically. 

My  Perdita  and  Miss  Fuller  were  helping  Hawes 
with  the  sculls. 

"You  know  a  good  deal  more  than  you  say,"  flung 
back  Miss  Harvey,  as  she  set  out  briskly  up  the  slope 
by  herself.  We  walked  up  to  the  village,  and  Miss 
Harvey's  disappearance  exercised  us. 

"Where  has  she  gone?"  inquired  Miss  Fuller. 

"I  think  she's  developed  a  notion,"  said  Perdita, 
and  added :  "She 's  wonderful." 

"Her  energy  is  calculated  to  shock  and  shame  any 
self-respecting  Briton,"  I  declared. 

We  halted  by  Mrs.  Lane's  cottage  gate,  and  Perdita, 
with  a  gracious  nod,  fled  under  the  arch  of  roses  and  up 
the  pathway.    Miss  Fuller  lingered. 

"  Wherever  has  she  gone  ?  "  she  asked,  referring  to  Miss 
Harvey.  The  chauffeur  was  visible,  wandering  idly  be- 
fore the  inn,  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth.  Therefore  she 
had  not  gone  to  prepare  for  her  homeward  journey. 

I  shook  my  head ;  my  gaze  went  past  Miss  Fuller  up 
the  stone  pathway  to  a  blank  door. 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  91 


"Won't  you  —  won't  you  come  in  and  have  tea?'* 
asked  Miss  Fuller,  hesitantly. 

I  suppose  I  had  forced  this  hospitality.  She  remem- 
bered, no  doubt,  that  I  had  been  host  to  their  party 
and  expected  something  in  return.  I  accepted  with 
alacrity,  and  we  went  up  the  garden  together,  Miss 
Fuller,  I  regret  to  say,  showing  signs  of  uneasiness  and 
abstraction,  which  suggested  repentance  of  her  offer. 

But  why,  I  asked  myself,  should  I  be  debarred  from 
their  quarters  .^^  I  was  fairly  agreeable,  and  no  more 
stupid  than  any  other  man,  and  I  could  vouch  for  my 
respectability.  I  could  not  think  it  was  conventional 
prudery,  in  Perdita  at  least.  I  was  resolved  to  enter, 
and  I  did,  a  little  in  the  wake  of  my  hostess.  She  had 
preceded  me  by  a  few  steps  into  the  crowded  little 
rustic  sitting-room,  and  ere  I  showed  round  the  door, 
Perdita's  voice  was  audible. 

"Isabel,  don't  you  think  really,  it  was  a  little  bare- 
faced, specially  after  what  she  said  about  —  " 

"Dear,  I've  brought  in  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  —  '^ 
broke  in  Miss  Fuller  hastily. 

Perdita,  whom  I  now  saw  in  the  window,  drew  back 
swiftly. 

"Oh,  would  you  like  tea?"  she  said  precipitately. 

"I  don't  know  about  Sir  Gilbert.  Mr.  Brabazon 
would,"  I  answered  lightly. 

The  two  girls  bustled  about  their  hospitable  offices, 
leaving  me  to  wonder.  What  was  barefaced,  and  who 
was  she  ?  Perhaps  it  was  Mrs.  Lane  who  had  been  at 
the  sugar.  But,  no.  It  must  be  Miss  Harvey.  What 
then  had  that  charming  lady  to  do  with  anything  bare- 
faced ?  I  gave  it  up,  and  drank  my  tea  and  talked 
small  talk.    In  the  clear  light  Perdita  was  tender  and 


32  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


vivid  to  look  upon.  She  reclined  in  an  old-fashioned 
rocking-chair,  and  we  discussed  the  evening,  the 
weather,  and  the  scenery,  —  all  valuable  subjects  when 
you  are  dragging  for  an  anchorage.  From  scenery 
we  got  upon  the  Castle,  and  I  spoke  of  Sir  Gilbert.  I 
can  laugh  as  I  remember  how  I  spoke  of  Sir  Gilbert. 
I  gave  my  opinion  of  him  frankly,  while  the  two  girls 
eyed  me  with  interest  and  unaffected  attention.  Sir 
Gilbert,  I  conceived  was  something  of  a  ne'er-do-well 
and  probably  rackety  into  the  bargain. 

"Do  you  know  him?"  inquired  Perdita  abruptly. 

I  confessed  that  I  did  not,  but  I  had  plenty  of  evi- 
dence against  him.  He  must  be  a  man  of  no  taste, 
seeing  he  had  neglected  so  picturesque  a  property  for 
years. 

"Perhaps  he  did  n't  know  it  was  so  nice,"  suggested 
Miss  Fuller. 

I  pointed  out  that  he  had  been  there  as  a  boy,  and 
that  ignorantia  legis  non  excusat, 

"Perhaps,"  remarked  Miss  Fuller,  "he  has  reasons 
which  keep  him  away." 

"Reasons!  Dissipations  are  the  reasons  of  youth," 
I  said  with  scorn. 

"You  are  very  hard  on  him,"  she  said,  without  seem- 
ing to  mind.    "But  perhaps  you  know  best." 

"No;  I  have  theories,"  I  explained.  "I  sit  and 
brood  in  my  lonely  rooms,  and  try  to  materialize  this 
landlord  of  mine.  I  think  of  lots  of  things  in  my  soli- 
tude. Solitude  is  good  for  the  brain,  but  I  think  it 's 
bad  for  tlie  morals.   I  feel  I 'm  going  down -hill." 

"Please  don't  dissipate  like  Sir  Gilbert,"  said  Per- 
dita, with  a  smile  that  flashed  out. 

"Veiy  well,  I  won't,"  I  promised.   "But  if  my  soli- 


To  BE  Sung  on  the  Waters  9S 


tude  was  not  so  prolonged  and  profound,  I  should 
find  it  easier  —  if  I  had  visitors  oftener,  for  example." 

Perdita  took  no  heed  of  this  broad  hint,  but  Miss 
Fuller  cast  what  I  took  to  be  an  inquiring  glance  at  her. 
She  rose. 

There  is  Miss  Harvey,"  she  said,  gazing  through  the 
window,  "and  she 's  with  —  why,  it 's  Mr.  Eustace  !" 

I  looked  over  her  shoulder,  and  saw  the  pair  pass. 
They  crossed  the  green  from  the  direction  of  the  inn, 
and  went  boldly  towards  Eustace's  lodgings.  They 
entered  unashamedly  and  in  naked  daylight. 

Perdita 's  eyes  fell  on  me,  her  lips  trembling  with  a 
little  unexpressed  smile.  I  have  told  you  of  her  auda- 
cious sallies;  here  was  one.  Her  face  invited  me,  if  I 
could  interpret  it  so  far,  to  enjoy  a  point  of  humor  with 
her.  It  was  no  use  in  the  world  appealing  to  Miss 
Fuller,  and  I  got  the  notion  that  she  never  tried.  I  be- 
lieve we  should  both  have  laughed  out  had  we  been 
alone  together.  As  it  was,  our  humors  greeted  civilly 
and  w^t  by.   Perdita  demurely  resumed  her  seat. 

"WTbatever  is  she  thinking  of      asked  Miss  Fuller. 

"I  hope  she 's  gone  in  to  have  some  tea  as  nice  as 
this,"  I  answered.  "And  may  I  have  just  one  more 
cup  before  you  turn  me  out  ?" 

"Oh,  it 's  stood  too  long,"  said  Miss  Fuller  in  dismay. 

"I 'm  afraid  so  have  I,"  I  said.  I  wanted  to  leave 
with  the  satisfaction  of  that  mutual  understanding.  I 
made  my  adieus  and  went  to  the  door.  Perdita  stood 
smilingly  gracious  and  beautiful  before  me. 

"Good-bye,"  she  said,  as  she  shook  hands,  and  there 
was  even  a  mischievous  look  appearing  with  the  dimple 
in  her  cheeks.  "I  would  n't  be  so  hard  on  Sir  Gilbert, 
He  may  be  only  a  frivoUer." 


«4 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"I  won't,"  I  said,  oblivious  to  all  but  her  beauty  and 
its  proximity  to  me. 

The  chauffeur  was  still  lounging  before  the  inn  as 
I  went  by ;  and  when  I  reached  the  gates  of  my  domain, 
there  was  the  large  cockney  back  again. 

"Why,  my  friend,"  I  stopped  to  say  gayly,  out  of  a 
full  heart,  "this  is  like  old  times.  I  wish  I 'd  known. 
I 'd  have  sent  the  carriage  for  you." 

He  stared,  his  mouth  open  in  surprise;  and  then,  as 
one  suspecting  himself  the  victim  of  a  practical  joke 
which  he  does  not  understand,  retorted  surlily: 

"Come  off  it !  If  you  do  own  the  Castle,  you  don't 
the  road,  Mister." 

"I  '11  ask  the  cook  to  send  out  sandwiches,"  I  said, 
paying  no  heed.  He  was  a  genuine  cockney  with  the 
cockney's  genuine  spirit,  and  he  changed  sharply,  and 
with  humor. 

"I  '11  take  sherry  with  'em.  Governor,  thanks,"  he 
said,  and  as  I  walked  on  called  after  me  "and  a  fiver  for 
keb-fares,  as  I 've  left  me  purse  on  the  kitchen  planner." 

His  mocking  laughter  followed  me,  and  I  left  him 
restored  to  good  humor  by  his  sally.  I  was  not  even 
giving  him  a  thought,  or  the  plot,  or  the  burglar,  or  any 
indifferent  matters  of  that  kind. 

No;  spring  was  ripening  to  summer  in  the  country- 
side. And  spring  was  blossoming  to  summer  in  my 
heart.  Of  course  it  was  folly,  but  all  delight  is  folly, 
and  to  be  naidsummer-mad  is  the  supreme  delight. 
That  dream  of  mine,  drawn  from  vasty  deeps  of  mind 
and  memory  and  consciousness,  was  substantiated  in 
a  beautiful  face,  in  a  soft  coloring,  in  bronze-brown 
iair,  in  eyes  as  vivid  as  heaven. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  ALARM 


IWO  days  later,  just  after  lunch,  I  was  informed 


A  by  Jackman  that  Mr.  Peter  Toosey  would  like 
to  speak  to  me.  He  entered  with  several  symptoms 
of  embarrassment,  one  of  which  consisted  of  sitting  on 
my  hat,  which,  of  course,  ought  not  to  have  been 
where  it  wa^.  But  he  at  last  found  a  vent  for  his 
voice. 

"I  think  I  can  suggest  an  explanation  of  the  events 
which  have  troubled  you,  Mr.  Brabazon,"  he  said. 

*'My  dear  sir,"  said  I,  at  once  arrested,  "if  you  can, 
you  have  my  eternal  gratitude." 

"Let  us  take  it  logically,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  gaining 
confidence,  and  spreading  out  a  color-stained  bunch 
of  fingers.  "One,  the  presence  of  an  outsider,  ram- 
bling through  the  rooms  by  night,  discloses  that  there 
is  something  in  the  Castle  which  some  one  wants." 

"That  I  will  not  dispute,"  I  said  dryly. 

"Next,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  ticking  off  a  finger,  "the 
existence  of  spies,  demonstrated  by  you  by  sundry  tests, 
shows  that  the  Castle  is  watched  night  and  day." 

"  Granted  !  "    I  again  accented. 

"It  is  then  obvious,"  proceeded  Mr.  Toosey,  "that 
the  spies  are  set  to  prevent  something  or  some  one  from: 
leaving  the  Castle." 

"Let  us  suppose  that,"  I  agreed. 


96  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


''Is  it  treasure?  The  treasure  won't  walk  out  of  its 
own  accord.  It  is  therefore  a  man,  with  or  without 
treasure.  Some  one,  therefore,  in  the  Castle  is  the  ob- 
ject of  their  manoeuvres." 

"That  sounds  quite  plausible,"  I  said.  *'And  it 
obviously  is  n't  I." 

''No,  not  you,"  he  asserted  confidently. 

"Nor  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Jackman,"  I  went  on. 

"Certainly  not,"  agreed  Mr.  Toosey. 

"Well,  then,  there 's  yourself,"  I  suggested. 

Mr.  Toosey  was  thrown  into  confusion.  "I  don't 
think  that  I  am  of  any  interest  to  the  gang,"  he  stam- 
mered. "I  will  admit  I  had  n't  thought  of  myself.  I 
thought  of  some  one  else." 

"In  the  name  of  fortune,  whom  ?"  I  asked. 

Mr.  Toosey  lowered  his  voice.  "Some  one  concealed 
in  the  Castle,"  he  said. 

"But — "  I  began,  staggered. 

"What,"  suggested  Peter  Toosey,  now  alive  with 
his  idea,  "what  if  one  of  the  gang  is  already  hiding  in 
the  Castle,  seeking  refuge  from  the  friends  he  has 
betrayed 

I  pondered  it.  "Probably  a  member  of  a  secret 
Russian  society  who  has  broken  his  vows,"  proceeded 
Mr.  Toosey,  warming,  "and  with  a  pack  of  blood- 
thirsty wretches  on  his  trail !" 

"It 's  an  exciting  idea,,"  I  said. 

"Or  ruffianly  members  of  the  Camorra!"  said 
Mr.  Toosey,  following  up  his  advantage.  "Or  even 
Fenians !" 

"If  you  are  right,"  I  said,  "I  will  lodge  a  complaint 
with  the  Russian  embassy,  with  the  Italian  Government, 
and  the  Head  Centre  in  New  York.  We  must  stop  it." 


The  Alarm 


97 


"Of  course  mine  is  only  an  idea/'  said  he  modestly. 

"A  very  ingenious  idea,"  I  said.  "We  will  certainly 
go  into  it  when  we  have  a  little  leisure.  If  we  could 
capture  one  or  two  — " 

He  retired  in  a  glow  of  satisfaction,  promising  to 
think  out  further  ideas,  and  I  went  on  with  my  writing. 
I  was  planning  nothing  short  of  a  dinner  party,  in  which 
four  ladies  were  to  figure.  But  now  I  had  a  happy 
notion.  Mr.  Toosey  might  assist  me  more  nearly  to 
balance  the  excessive  numbers  of  the  other  sex.  I  was 
pleased  with  my  inspiration  as  I  penned  my  invitation 
to  Mrs.  Harvey  and  her  daughter  at  Two  Bridges,  and 
to  Miss  Fuller  and  Miss  Forrest  at  Southington.  I 
secured  Mr.  Toosey  as  a  guest  before  he  left  that  day. 

I  had  not,  I  confess,  anticipated  the  downfall  of  my 
extreme  hopes;  and  the  Southington  reply  came  like 
a  blow  in  the  face.  Miss  Forrest  and  Miss  Fuller  much 
regretted.  .  .  .   Now  why  ? 

Oh,  well,  I  threw  sentiment  to  the  winds  and  gave 
way  to  my  irritation.  At  least  Miss  Harvey  was  coming 
and  bringing  her  mother,  who  "looks  forward  to  seeing 
your  ancient  Castle."  And  Mr.  Toosey  would  serve 
for  Mrs.  Harvey.  Mrs.  Jackman,  all  agog  with  ex- 
citement at  this  unwonted  festivity,  was  doing  her  ut- 
most. I  rather  fancied  that  Mr.  Toosey  had  something 
to  communicate  to  me  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day,  but, 
fearing  he  had  further  developed  his  ideas,  I  dodged 
him,  made  a  bolt  for  it,  and  stayed  out  on  the  water 
tiU  rather  late.  When  I  returned  I  had  just  time  to 
dress  and  get  down  to  my  arriving  guests.  The  car 
brought  the  American  ladies. 

Mrs.  Harvey  was  a  woman  of  comfortable  body, 
with  a  pleasant  smUe,  and  a  wrinkled  capable  face. 

7 


98  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


She  looked  as  if  she  lived  alertly  and  briskly,  yet  let 
nothing  disturb  her,  a  combination  we  are  hardly  able 
to  arrive  at  in  these  less  fortunate  isles.  She  was 
dressed  as  smartly  as  her  daughter,  and  seemed  to  me 
to  retain  as  much  youthful  fire.  To  my  renewed  as- 
tonishment, after  his  initial  shyness  had  worn  off,  Mr. 
Toosey  developed  amazingly;  under  the  influence  of 
wine  he  blossomed  like  a  flower,  and  delighted  the  table 
with  his  anecdotes  and  ideas.  Encouraged  by  his 
audience  he  retired  on  stories  of  the  Latin  Quarter, 
during  his  youth,  which  began  gradually  to  assume 
such  weird  colors  that  I  hastened  to  intervene.  I  do 
not  know  that  it  was  necessary,  for  Mrs.  Harvey  was 
sprightly  with  laughter,  and  her  daughter  listened  with- 
out manifest  distress. 

"Mamma,"  she  said  abruptly  across  the  table,  "we 
must  go  to  Paris  this  fall." 

"Very  well,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Harvey  obediently. 
"I  dare  say  your  papa  can  do  without  us  till  Christmas. 
I  suppose  you  will  spend  Christmas  here,  Sir  Gilbert?" 
she  inquired,  turning  to  me. 

"If  I  were  Sir  Gilbert,  I  certainly  would,"  said  I. 

"  Of  course,  it 's  my  mistake,"  she  said  smiling. 

"I  should  just  love  to  spend  a  Christmas  in  an  old- 
world  place  like  this,"  remarked  Miss  Harvey. 

Mr.  Toosey,  feeling  he  had  had  his  day,  was  making 
up  for  lost  time  with  the  courses. 

After  dinner  I  conducted  my  guests  through  such 
portions  of  the  Castle  as  were  available,  and  they  en- 
joyed the  excursion  all  the  more  that  Jackman  and  I 
were  obliged  to  carrj^  long  brass  candlesticks. 

"Say,  we  should  have  all  this  lighted  with  electricity," 
observed  Mrs.  Harvev, 


The  Alarm  99 


We  were  then  in  the  picture-gallery,  and  there  was 
considerable  excuse  for  her  remark,  inasmuch  as  we 
were  striving  in  vain  to  make  out  the  features  of  Lady 
Claire. 

"She's  a  lovely  woman,"  said  Mrs.  Harvey  ad- 
miringly. Mr.  Toosey  had  passed  us,  explaining  to 
Miss  Harvey  at  her  earnest  request  how  he  painted. 

"Then  she  was  your  great-grandmother,  Sir  Gil- 
bert?" asked  my  lady. 

She  seemed  to  me  rather  muddle-headed,  but  I  dis- 
claimed the  identity  again  politely. 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  gave  me  a  meaning  smile,  but  I 
couldn't  fathom  its  meaning.  "This  is  a  pretty 
little  property,"  she  went  on  appraisingly,  "but  it 
would  be  all  the  better  for  improvement,  would  n't  it, 
Mr.  Brabazon?" 

To  my  ears  there  was  a  perceptible  emphasis  on  my 
name,  by  which  I  thought  she  was  impressing  it  on 
herself. 

"I  should  say  a  few  thousand  pounds  would  help  it 
much,"  I  said.  "It 's  been  neglected  since  the  present 
owner  got  it.   I  gather  he  has  no  money." 

"But  if  he  were  to  marry  well,  that  could  easily  be 
altered,"  said  Mrs.  Harvey,  and  again  I  caught  her 
significant  smile. 

"No  doubt,"  said  I,  indifferently. 

"That 's  the  way,  I  think,  the  world  keeps  its 
balance,"  observed  Mrs.  Harvey.  "It  levels  up  that 
way." 

"I  suppose  so,"  I  assented,  following  her  notion  which 
seemed  to  have  an  idea  in  it.  "Stable  equilibrium  is 
best  achieved  as  a  resultant  of  divergent  forces." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Mrs.  Harvey. 


100 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"I  beg  yours,"  I  returned.   "I  was  thinking  aloud." 

"Well,  if  thinking 's  going  to  help  you  any,  go  on 
thinking,"  said  she  good-naturedly. 

"Well,  we  gain  equipoise  b^y  constant  adjustments. 
We  should  wobble  over  without  them." 

She  looked  puzzled.  "I'm  thinking  aloud,"  I  ex- 
plained again.  "No  doubt  if  Sir  Gilbert  were  wise  he 
would  not  come  down  wdth  a  crash.  Perhaps  he  will 
be." 

"It  all  depends  on  him,"  observed  Mrs.  Harvey, 
eying  me.  And  at  that  moment  it  flashed  on  my  mind 
that  she  was  under  an  astonishing  misapprehension. 
I  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  wondering  how  I  should 
disillusionize  her,  wondering  also  how  she  had  corre 
to  make  the  odd  mistake.  And  behind  these  thoughts 
suddenly  arose  the  dim  and  formless  shapes  of  other 
and  even  stranger  thoughts.  I  saw  Miss  Harvey  and 
Miss  Forrest  and  Miss  Fuller  through  a  mist  of  vague 
guesses  and  chances  and  hazy  speculations.  It  was  as 
if  a  nebula  of  doubt  had  suddenly  sprung  up  and 
around  me  and  them.  How  long  I  was  silent  I  do  not 
know,  but  thoughts  are  instant,  so  it  may  have  been 
but  a  minute  or  two.  I  was  roused  from  my  reverie 
not  by  Mrs.  Harvey,  but  by  Mrs.  Jackman's  voice. 

"Please,  sir,  a  lady  wishes  to  see  you  on  urgent 
business." 

I  stared.    "What?"  I  said. 

"Miss  Forrest,  sir ;  "  she  paused,  her  eyes  ardent  with 
some  emotion.  In  wonder  and  anxiety  I  turned  away, 
with  an  apology  to  my  companion,  and  followed  Mrs. 
Jackman  down  the  stairs.  In  the  hall  was  Perdita  in 
evening  dress,  a  fleecy  wrap  hanging  from  her  shoulder. 

"You  have  come  after  all,"  I  said,  going  forward 


The  Alarm 


101 


with  my  two  hands  outstretched.  "Oh,  how  unkind 
of  you  to  come  so  late,  and  how  kind  to  come  at  all 

"Mr.  Brabazon,"  she  began  impetuously,  paying 
this  outbreak  no  heed.  "There 's  a  man  about  the 
house  —  two  men,  I  saw  them  —  one  came  in  at  the 
gate,  and  there  was  another.  And  he  was  stealing 
through  the  shrubbery,  and  remembering  what  has 
happened  here  I  thought  you  ought  to  know,"  she 
ended  breathlessly,  and  my  sentiment  slipped  from  me, 
as  her  wrap  was  slipping  from  her,  leaving  her  with 
white  and  beautiful  arms  in  the  dim  light  of  the  hall. 

"When?"  I  asked. 

"Just  now,"  she  breathed.  "I 've  run  all  the  way. 
I  don't  think  they  can  be  here  before  me.  I  dodged 
through  the  meadow  and  through  the  lime  avenue. 
They  went  by  the  shrubberies  towards  the  back  of  the 
house.    I  saw  them  plainly  in  the  moonlight." 

"You  brave  girl !"  I  said,  and  put  a  hand  on  her 
shoulder.  I  was  just  aware  that  it  was  resting  not  upon 
her  dress,  but  upon  the  supple  splendor  of  her  arm; 
and  I  am  sure  she  was  conscious  of  nothing  save  the 
invaders. 

"They  may  have  resolved  to  move  to-night,  thinking 
we  are  engaged  and  off  guard,"  I  said.  "Thanks  to 
you,  we  are  forewarned.  Now,  you  will  let  me  give  you 
a  glass  of  wine.^" 

She  declined,  but  I  insisted,  and  I  left  her  in  the 
dining-room  under  Mrs.  Jackman's  care  while  I  ran 
up-stairs.  I  gave  Jackman  the  news  and  drew  Toosey 
aside  to  communicate  it  to  him.  But  my  action  ex.  ited 
the  curiosity  of  Miss  Harvey. 

"  What  is  it  .^^ "  she  asked.  "  Has  anything  happened  ? 
Do  tell  me." 


102        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


It  seemed  hopeless  to  shut  them  out  of  our  secret, 
as  we  should  require  all  the  available  male  assistance 
we  could  muster;  and  so  I  told  her  frankly.  She 
seemed  delighted. 

"This  is  just  a  real  Castle  affair,"  she  said  cheer- 
fully. "I  can  imagine  we  are  being  besieged  by  horrible 
and  vicious  enemies,  can't  you,  mamma?" 

I  don't  know  if  Mrs.  Harvey  was  able  to  stretch  her 
imagination  so  far,  but  she  certainly  looked  uneasy. 
Her  comfortable  appearance  vanished,  and  she  cast 
anxious  glances  at  me,  so  that  I  felt  constrained  to  re- 
assure her.  The  ladies  accompanied  us  down-stairs 
and  Jackman  sought  weapons  in  the  kitchen.  I  fear 
we  were  not  armed  after  Miss  Harvey's  heart,  nor  in 
keeping  with  our  environment.  We  hardly  did  credit 
to  a  castle;  for  Jackman  had  possessed  himself  of  a 
chopper,  I  was  supplied  with  a  rake,  and  Mr.  Toosey 
was  equipped  with  a  Turk's  head  broom.  Jackman 's 
weapon  was  certainly  formidable  to  observe,  but  I  had 
my  doubts  if  it  would  come  into  operation.  What 
must  happen  next  but  that  Miss  Harvey  should  insist 
on  accompanying  us  ?  And  while  we  were  demurring, 
Perdita,  who  had  been  conferring  with  her,  expressed 
her  intention  of  coming  to  point  out  in  what  direction 
the  burglars  had  gone.  With  this  accession  to  our 
attacking  force  it  began  almost  to  be  safer  to  venture 
out  than  to  stay  in  a  dispeopled  fortress ;  and  I  was  on 
the  point  of  inviting  Mrs.  Harvey  also  to  join  us.  But 
Miss  Christobel  seized  a  carving  knife  from  the  table 
and  walked  out  into  the  hall,  thus  giving  us  the  signal 
for  an  advance.   We  opened  the  door  and  sallied  forth. 

I  suppose  we  might  have  been  considered  a  recon- 
naissance in  force;  for  our  object  was  to  locate  the 


The  Alarm 


103 


enemy  and  measure  his  strength.  We  went  cautiously 
at  first,  all  the  more  that  the  moon  had  gone  in,  and  the 
garden  was  steeped  in  a  vague  twilight.  Perdita  kept 
close  by  me  —  perhaps  it  was  I  who  kept  close  by 
Perdita  —  and  Mr.  Toosey  followed,  brandishing  his 
Turk's  head.  Miss  Harvey  and  Jackman,  with  the  mur- 
derous weapons,  brought  up  the  rear.  We  stealthily 
crept  along  the  drive  to  the  avenue  where  the  road  for 
tradesmen's  carts  deviated  from  it  towards  the  back 
parts  of  the  Castle. 

"This  is  where  I  saw  them,"  said  Perdita  breath- 
lessly.  "They  were  going,  oh  !  so  quietly."  J! 

We  diverged  through  the  shrubbery,  and  beat  it 
from  end  to  end,  but  encountered  nothing.  Thence  in 
a  body  we  reached  the  rear  of  the  house.  Still  no  one 
was  to  be  found.  So  we  made  a  circuit  of  the  north 
side,  and  came  out  by  the  tangled  orchard.  Jackman 
here  bravely  volunteered  to  reconnoitre,  and  we  watched 
him  become  part  of  the  darkness  as  he  strode  off.  We 
waited  five  minutes  —  six  minutes ;  and  then  a  noise 
disengaged  itself  on  the  still  air  towards  the  left. 

"It 's  on  the  front  lawn,"  said  Miss  Harvey  in  my 
ears,  her  carving  knife  tickling  my  ribs.  "There, 
there!" 

It  was  true.  The  sound  of  a  falling  body,  as  it 
seemed,  reached  us  from  the  front  of  the  house.  I 
dashed  off  at  my  best  speed,  v^ith  some  one  at  my  heels, 
and  along  the  path  we  raced  in  pursuit. 

I  jumped  the  gravel  path  that  crossed  our  track  and 
sped  on  to  the  lawns  to  the  south.  Before  me  I  could 
faintly  see  a  big  border,  and  I  swerved  to  avoid  it. 
Immediately  afterwards  my  foot  caught  in  something, 
and  I  tripped,  staggered,  recovered  myself  and  ran  on. 


104        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


A  wild  cry  came  from  behind  me;  I  turned  half-way 
round  in  my  course  to  look  back,  but  still  ran  on.  The 
tail  of  the  moon  lit  up  the  prospect  thinly,  and  I  de- 
scribed in  the  distance  a  man  making  off  at  full  speed. 
The  sight  stimulated  me,  and  I  increased  my  pace, 
stumbled  again,  and  went  down  headlong.  Recovering 
myself  stupidly,  I  felt  something  under  my  feet,  and 
groped  for  it.  It  was  a  wire  rope  stretched  along  the 
lawn. 

The  man  had  vanished,  and  I  knew  it  was  hopeless 
to  attempt  to  overtake  him.  Behind  me  was  a  voice 
still  crying,  and  I  went  back.  A  figure  lying  on  the 
lawn  met  my  eyes,  and  I  stooped : 

"Are  you  hurt.?^"  I  asked. 

"My  foot 's  tangled,"  said  Perdita's  voice. 

I  disengaged  her  from  the  wire,  put  my  arms  about 
her,  and  lifted  her  with  an  absurd  sense  of  joy. 

"  Hark  ! "  said  she,  "  I  think  it  must  be  Miss  Harvey." 

Exploration  led  us  to  the  second  victim.  We  found 
her  thrown  with  the  impetus  of  her  run  into  a  bed  of 
tea-roses,  where  she  lay  in  distress.  I  raised  her,  too, 
gently. 

"Please,"  she  said,  "be  careful.  These  horrid 
thorns  !  Oh,  I  shan't  be  able  to  wear  evening  dresses 
for  a  week." 

"Damn  the  wires!"  I  said  savagely. 

Perdita  limped,  and  Miss  Harvey  uttered  little  dis- 
tressful exclamations,  and  I  looked  about  for  further 
news.  There  was  no  sign  of  Toosey  or  of  Jackman; 
but  a  shout  came  from  beyond  the  rhododendrons. 

"Wait  here,"  I  said  to  the  girls,  and  I  leapt  the 
barrier  of  wire,  and  dashed  into  the  lower  garden.  Al- 
most at  once  I  was  seized  by  the  legs  and  thrown  heavily 


The  Alarm 


105 


to  the  ground,  while  a  long  stick  was  poked  into  the 
small  of  my  back. 

"Damn  you,  lie  still  —  lie  still,  damn  you!  I've 
got  you!"  yelled  a  voice  which  I  recognized  as  Mr. 
Toosey's. 

"Hold  up,  you  fool!"  I  cried  angrily,  as  I  felt  a 
feather  broom  sweep  up  my  hair.  "Hold  up,  you  con- 
founded ass !" 

Mr.  Toosey  held  up.  "Lord,  I  thought  it  was  a 
burglar!"  he  explained  apologetically,  as  he  helped 
me  to  my  feet.  I  was  too  angry  to  retort,  and  marched 
off  without  a  word,  Toosey  following,  and  pouring  out 
his  explanations  and  excuses.  We  had  nearly  reached 
the  ladies,  when  in  the  midst  of  his  apologies,  he  tripped 
and  went  over,  saluting  the  earth  with  a  solid  dull  bang. 
He  scrambled  to  his  feet  clumsily. 

"Oh,  good  Lord,  I'd  forgotten  my  wires,"  he 
bleated. 

"Your  wires  !"  I  exclaimed,  turning  on  him. 

"Yes;  I  wanted  to  tell  you  I  had  laid  them  this 
morning,"  he  said  triumphantly.  "I  thought  it  an  ex- 
cellent notion  if  they  should  come.  And,  by  George,  it 
nearly  did  for  them.   That  noise  we  heard  —  " 

"Oh,  you  blatant  ass!"  I  cried,  out  of  patience. 
"You  11  be  the  death  of  me.  It  nearly  did  for  Miss 
Harvey  and  Miss  Forrest.  Oh,  you  inconceivable 
dolt!" 

I  turned  away  in  high  dudgeon,  and  offered  my  arm 
to  Perdita,  who  after  a  momentary  hesitation  accepted 
it.  Her  anlde  had  suffered  a  strain,  and  she  limped 
perceptibly.  Miss  Harvey  volubly  offered  her  opinion 
on  the  night's  transactions,  and  Mr.  Toosey  had  sunk 
below  apologies.    These,  however,  he  resumed  when? 


106        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


we  had  regained  the  house,  and  been  greeted  by  Mrs. 
Harvey  as  if  we  had  returned  from  the  dead. 

"I  know  I 'm  marked  all  over,"  said  Christobel 
plaintively.  "Isn't  there  a  scratch  on  my  back?* 
she  asked  her  mother. 

"There  is  a  sort  of  speckled  one,"  said  Mr.  Toosey, 
iooking  over  Mrs.  Harvey's  shoulder  interestedly,  "but 
not  a  large  one,  or  very  deep,"  he  said  eagerly. 

Miss  Harvey  bounced  away  indignantly.  Injuria 
formae  had  driven  her  to  a  feminine  petulance  I  had 
never  yet  observed  in  her.  She  frowned  like  a  thunder- 
storm, threatening  the  rain  of  tears.  Perdita  limped 
across  to  comfort  her,  and  of  a  sudden  I  felt  sorry  for 
Mr.  Toosey.  I  owed  him  something  in  compensation, 
for  the  accident  had  given  me  privileges,  and  I  felt  a 
barrier  had  insensibly  gone  down  between  me  and  mine. 
Forlorn  he  stood  looking  at  the  havoc  of  his  handiwork, 
till  I  breathed  a  cheering  word  into  his  ear.  Of  course 
I  dared  not  do  it  aloud.  Mrs.  Harvey  also  was  being 
called  upon  to  console  her  daughter.  I  believe  she 
thought  the  injuries  had  been  the  horrible  result  of  a 
contest  with  the  burglars. 

"It  wasn't  a  bad  idea,"  I  whispered.  "But  you 
should  have  given  us  warning." 

"I  —  I  intended  to  this  afternoon,  but  I  couldn't 
find  you,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  picking  up,  and  added: 
"I  should  n't  be  surprised  if  one  of  those  fellows  is  out 
there  with  a  broken  leg." 

At  that  I  had  a  revulsion ;  for  Perdita's  ankle  twinkled 
in  my  mind's  eye,  and  with  indignation  I  recognized 
what  it  might  have  meant.  His  silly  complacency  in- 
furiated me. 

"Well,  you 'd  better  make  yourself  scarce  till  they  've 


The  Alarm 


107 


got  over  it,"  I  said  inhospitably.  "You  '11  catch  it  if 
you  stay." 

"Perhaps  you  're  right,"  he  sighed,  *and  he  slipped 
from  the  room  like  a  schoolboy  anxious  to  escape  the 
master's  eye. 

As  I  showed  him  out,  Jackman  came  breathlessly 
into  the  hall. 

"Did  —  did  you  find  any  one,  sir  ?"  he  asked. 

"No,"  said  I,  shortly.   "Did  you?" 

"No,  sir,"  he  returned  promptly,  "not  a  sign  of  any 
one." 

I  had  one  further  consolation  that  night.  I  helped 
Perdita  into  the  motor-car  from  which  the  Harveys 
were  to  drop  her  at  Southington.  Meanwhile  I  em- 
broidered some  foolish  frivolity  about  the  goddess's^ 
injured  shoulder.   She  fretted  frankly. 

"If  you  guessed,"  said  I,  contemplating  her  from 
behind,  "how  wonderfully  the  scratch  sets  off  your  hues 
you  would  not  mind." 

She  paused.   "Does  it  .^"  she  asked  with  interest. 

I  nodded.  "Flaws  only  emphasize  the  nobility  of  a 
pattern,"  I  said  sententiously,  "provided  always  they 
are  tiny  flaws.  It  is  only  by  contrast  that  sheer  beauty 
emerges  at  its  best.  Set  a  pretty  girl  beside  a  plain  one 
—  and  see  how  she  shines  !  And  the  beauty  of  an  im- 
paired surface  is  the  lovelier  for  the  comparison  !" 

"You  think  so  ?"  said  Miss  Harvey,  pensively. 

"Yes,  it  is  so.  Mr.  Brabazon's  right,"  said  her 
mother,  anxiously. 

"Why  else  did  the  fashion  of  patches  come  in.^^"  I 
asked,  "if  not  designed  to  throw  up  the  perfection  of  an 
exquisite  complexion.^" 

"That 's  true,"  said  Christobel.   "But  it  did  smart,'^ 


108        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


she  added  with  a  smile.  "I  believe  those  roses  of  yours 
have  more  thorns  than  ours." 

"Ah,  they  should  not  have  pricked  a  rose!"  I  ex- 
claimed. 

Christobel  beamed  in  her  magnificent  frank  way,  as 
a  queen  might  extend  a  favor  to  her  courtier. 

"That 's  just  lovely,  Mr.  Brabazon,"  said  she. 
^'Why,  what 's  the  matter  with  your  face?" 

The  smile  spread  and  broke  into  laughter.  She 
laughed  as  if  she  were  at  a  pantomime.  I  inquired  of 
Perdita  with  my  eyes. 

"It 's  rather  dirty,"  she  said  gravely,  but  her  gravity 
was  a  little  constrained. 

"Oh,  damn  it.  It 's  Toosey's  infernal  broom,"  said 
I,  in  a  flash  of  surmise.  "He  brushed  all  my  face." 
Miss  Harvey  still  laughed,  and  a  trickle  of  laughter 
came  into  Perdita's  face. 

"I  don't  mind,"  I  said  recklessly.  "I  took  part  of  it 
out  in  a  swear- word.  And  I  '11  take  the  rest  out  in 
something  else." 

They  did  n't  know,  but  I  took  it  out  in  assisting 
Perdita  into  the  car  a  little  later.  I  ought  only  to  have 
been  a  prop,  or  crutch.  I  confess  I  was  more.  I  drew 
her  by  her  slender  arm  towards  me,  so  that  she  was 
forced  to  lean  on  my  shoulder,  and  then  I  bodily  lifted 
her  in.  For  just  a  moment  she  swayed  in  the  air  in  my 
grasp,  and  then  her  skirts  blew  back  into  my  face, 
thrilling  me.  She  thought  she  was  going  to  fall,  and 
clutched  me,  but  she  was  n't.  I  set  her  gently  down; 
but  I  felt  her  in  my  arms  long  after  the  car  had  vanished. 

I  felt  her  in  my  arms  when  I  went  to  bed,  and  lay 
pondering  the  events  of  the  night.  But  across  this  per- 
-sisting  consciousness  a  thought  cut  sharply.   Why  did 


The  Alarm 


109 


Mrs.  Harvey  obviously  suppose  me  to  be  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy  ?  And  if  she  had  fallen  into  that  error,  had  her 
daughter  also?  And  if  Christobel,  the  outspoken^ 
had  —  ? 

Back  at  this  juncture  flowed  that  delicious  conscious- 
ness.  And  I  believe  I  passed  to  sleep  holding  Perdita  ^ 
in  my  arms. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


ON  THE  TRAIL 

IT  was  but  civil  and  friendly  and  kind  that  I  should 
go  down  to  the  village  next  morning  to  inquire  after 
Miss  Forrest.  She  had  been  injured  in  a  gallant  en- 
deavor to  serve  me,  and  I  owed  it  to  myself  and  her  to 
show  some  concern  for  her.  As  I  went  down  the  wind- 
ing deep-rutted  lane,  embowered  in  green,  through 
which  a  skein  of  waving  sunlight  struggled  from  above, 
it  occurred  to  me  for  the  first  time  to  ask  how  she 
had  come  to  see  the  intruders.  In  the  confusion  of  the 
previous  evening  I  had  quite  forgotten  to  think  of  this, 
nor  had  she  thought  of  explaining.  And  so  I  put  the 
query  as  soon  as  ever  I  could  with  propriety  after  my 
solicitous  inquiries.  Her  ankle,  she  said,  was  nearly 
well,  and  it  had  been  foolish  of  her  to  make  such  a 
fuss.  It  had  been  Christobel  who  made  the  fuss,  as 
you  may  remember.  I  wanted  to  tell  her  she  was  an 
angel,  but  I  only  slangily  told  her  she  had  behaved 
"like  a  brick"  —  which  seemed,  however,  an  accept- 
able testimonial. 

"Yes,  and  I  was  afraid,"  said  Miss  Fuller,  with 
large  impressive  eyes. 

"You      said  I,  and  then  put  my  question. 
"  Oh,  we  had  taken  a  little  walk  in  the  evening  after 
dinner,"  said  Perdita  calmly,  "and  we  happened  to  see 
the  men  at  the  gates." 


On  the  Trail 


111 


"And  I  would  n't  go.  Was  n't  it  dreadful  of  me?'" 
said  Miss  Fuller,  anxious  for  my  condemnation.  "I 
hung  about  after  Perdita  had  left  me,  hoping  she  would 
come  back,  but  she  did  n't,  and  so  I  got  frightened 
and  went  home.   I  ran  nearly  all  the  way." 

She  was  bent  on  humiliating  herself,  and  exalting  her 
friend,  but  I  thought  Miss  Forrest  was  not  over-pleased. 

"It  was  much  more  risky  down  the  lane,"  she  said 
indifferently. 

"It  was  like  entering  the  imminent  deadly  breach,'* 
I  said  lightly.  "But  now  I  must  have  the  evidence  of 
my  eyes  as  to  these  ankles."  Miss  Fuller  started  and 
looked  aghast.  "I  must  see  how  you  walk,"  I  said, 
jfirmly,  by  way  of  explanation.  Miss  Fuller  seemed 
relieved.   Perdita  made  no  sign,  but  merely  smiled. 

I  insisted,  and  was  not  reluctant  to  lend  my  hand  to 
the  persuasion,  and  she  yielded.  She  walked  trium- 
phantly to  the  door  of  the  cottage,  and  looked  back  at 
me  defiantly. 

"Right  out,"  I  commanded.  "You  are  concealing 
something  in  this  half-light." 

"Indeed,  I'm  not,"  she  flashed  indignantly,  and 
marched  out  upon  the  stone  pathway  towards  the  gate. 

I  followed,  leaving,  I  am  thankful  to  say.  Miss 
Fuller  in  the  doorway. 

"You  're  just  a  little  bit  of  a  humbug  as  a  patient,'* 
I  told  Perdita,  as  I  joined  her. 

"You  are  much  more  as  a  doctor,"  she  retorted. 

I  looked  back.  Miss  Fuller  had  kindly  vanished. 
I  have  always  believed  that  no  one  in  the  wide  world 
whom  I  have  ever  met  had  so  much  vicarious  sentiment 
as  Miss  Fuller.  She  was  a  thoroughly  nice  woman,, 
and  quite  handsome. 


112        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Perdita  leaned  over  the  gate,  observing  the  morning 
eights  of  the  village,  and  I  followed  her  example.  Her 
face  was  of  a  fine  clarity  charged  with  life,  and  neither 
pale  nor  rosy.  Like  herself,  like  her  gait,  like  every 
instinct  of  her  spirit  and  body,  it  was  vivid  and  brilliant, 
yet  gave  one  the  impression  of  restraint.  Through  her 
habit  of  life  and  convention  only  now  and  then  did  her 
large  individuality  surge  up  and  overflow.  As  a  maid 
she  still  kept  it  within  gates,  with  the  promise  of  a  rare 
development.  We  talked  at  random,  for  I  was  thinking, 
and  content  to  see  her  and  think  of  her.  And  then  she 
turned  her  full  face  to  me. 

"I  wanted  to  tell  you,  Mr.  Brabazon,  that  I  thought 
I  recognized  one  of  the  men,"  she  said  slowly. 

I  waited,  watching  the  trouble  in  her  eyes.  "One 
entered  the  gate  just  before  we  got  there,"  she  proceeded, 
"and  shortly  afterwards  another  man  followed.  I  rec- 
ognized that  one." 

Still  I  waited.  "He  was  a  fisherman  I  have  seen  at 
the  Point,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  there  are  probably  local  scoundrels  in  it,  what- 
ever it  is,"  I  said. 

"You  see,  we  were  in  the  shadow  of  the  wall,"  she 
went  on,  without  heeding,  and  still  deliberately,  as 
though  she  would  rather  not,  "and  he  probably  did  not 
notice  us.  I  could  see  him  clearly,  a  tall,  dark,  lean 
man." 

"  Yes  ?"  said  I,  seeing  she  had  not  finished. 

"It  was  his  furtive  and  excited  air  that  struck  me, 
and  it  was  that  made  me  suspect  something.  I  thought 
you  ought  to  know." 

"It  was  more  than  good  of  you;  it  was  courageous 
and  fine." 


On  the  Trail 


113 


"I  ran  through  the  meadow,  and  thinking  I  heard 
footsteps  I  hid  for  a  moment  in  the  dark  shadows  of  the 
lime  avenue.   It  was  there  I  saw  the  second  man." 

She  paused,  and  turned  her  eyes  away;  they  rested, 
I  noticed,  across  the  village  green.  I  followed  them, 
and  saw  in  front  of  Mrs.  Turner's  garden,  lounging 
with  his  arms  over  the  gate,  Mr.  Eustace. 

"Did  you  see  him  clearly.^"  I  asked  quietly. 

"No;  not  very,"  she  said,  seeming  relieved  that  I 
asked  no  more.  "It  was  more  the  figure  that  suggested 
it.  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  have  said  so  much ;  it  was 
only  a  suspicion.  But  I  felt  you  ought  to  know.  He 
was  hiding  in  the  shrubbery.  It  was  then  that  I  made 
sure  something  was  wrong,  and  I  ran  on  to  the  Castle." 

I  was  silent  a  moment.  "It  is  all  so  strange  that  I 
was  prepared  for  anything  —  even  for  that,"  I  said. 

She  looked  at  me,  grateful,  I  conjectured,  that  I  had 
understood  without  words. 

"I  don't  think  it 's  credible  somehow,"  she  said. 

"We  must  take  everything  as  credible,  till  it  can  be 
disproved,"  I  replied.  "I  '11  devise  some  means  of 
putting  this  suspicion  to  the  test.  We  '11  only  take  it  at 
that  at  present,  shall  we?" 

"It  would  be  a  relief  to  me  if  you  would,"  she  said 
with  a  sigh.  "I  should  much  prefer  it,  and  I  thank 
you  for  understanding." 

The  conversation  had  drawn  us  closer,  and  I  left  her 
with  a  beating  heart.  I  went  up  the  lane,  hardly  aware 
what  I  was  doing,  and  then  remembered  that  I  had  a 
message  for  Hawes.  I  saw  him,  and  returned,  passing 
the  "Feathers";  and,  moved  by  an  impulse,  I  entered 
the  doorway  of  the  inn. 

It  is  a  custom  in  English  villages,  a  surviving  relic 
8 


114        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


of  ancient  and  more  intemperate  times,  to  interrupt  the 
morning  work  by  a  glass  of  ale  or  stout.  Oddly  enough, 
men  who  will  do  this  every  day  of  their  lives  would 
consider  an  afternoon  glass  as  a  sign  of  dissipation, 
even  of  insobriety.  It  was  between  eleven  and  twelve, 
and  several  of  the  village  tradesmen  were  gathered  for 
their  refreshment  in  the  little  parlor.  It  was  not  until 
I  heard  his  voice  from  behind  the  stout  grocer,  that  I 
knew  Eustace  was  among  them. 

"I  say,  have  you  got  any  stamps?"  he  called  in  his 
frank,  easy,  lusty  way. 

The  grocer  turned,  and  disclosed  him  to  me,  where 
he  sat  by  the  mantelpiece,  with  a  couple  of  letters  in 
his  hand,  and  a  cigarette  sticking  by  his  upper  lip. 
The  innkeeper  bustled  to  a  jar  to  search  in  it,  and, 
finding  what  he  sought,  held  out  six  stamps  to  his  cus- 
tomer, who  reached  lazily  to  take  them.  As  he  did  so, 
one  of  the  letters  he  held  slipped  from  his  fingers  and 
fluttered  to  the  floor,  carried  with  a  sidewise  plunge 
past  the  grocer's  legs  to  me.  I  picked  it  up,  and  handed 
it  back,  but  the  addressed  side  had  fallen  uppermost, 
and  I  could  not  but  read  it.  I  must  have  seen  the  name 
at  the  time,  but  when  I  cast  my  mind  back  that  same 
evening,  I  could  not  recall  it.  That  was  of  no  conse- 
quence. It  was  not  the  name  that  struck  me;  it  was 
the  writing.  It  remained  in  my  mind's  eye  with  a  fa- 
miliar effect.  Where  had  I  seen  it  ?  I  took  my  draught, 
and  left;  and  half-way  up  the  ascent  I  remembered. 
The  handwriting  was  that  which  I  had  found  in  the 
stolen  note-book  the  first  night  of  my  arrival  at  the 
Castle ! 

This  unexpected  identification  brought  me  to  a  stand- 
still ;  for  I  awoke  from  a  course  of  thought  to  find  my- 


On  the  Trail 


115 


gelf  staring  with  unseeing  eyes  across  the  hedgerow  into 
a  flowing  field  of  corn.  The  discovery  opened  a  whole 
world  of  possibilities  and  hazards.  To  say  the  truth, 
as  I  now  confessed  to  myself,  I  had  never  really  sus- 
pected Eustace  of  more  than  presumptuous  assurance; 
but  this  connection  of  the  note-book  with  him  set  him 
in  darker  colors.  It  associated  him  with  the  "ghost,'* 
with  the  intruder  in  the  gallery,  with  the  person  who 
had  inaugurated  all  my  suspicions  as  to  the  plot.  I 
was  staggered  by  the  revelation. 

But  after  I  had  resumed  my  walk,  my  amazement 
gave  way  to  a  consideration  of  policy.  In  the  face  of 
this,  what  was  to  be  done?  I  pondered  the  problem 
carefully,  but  I  could  see  no  road  of  definite  and  final 
action  open  to  me.  I  had  still  no  evidence  on  which  to 
take  proceedings;  stUl  I  could  not  authentically  con- 
nect Eustace  with  the  burglar.  I  could,  therefore,  only 
play  a  waiting  game  still,  but  now  one  with  an  obvious 
clue.  In  a  word,  attention  must  be  concentrated  on 
Eustace,  must  be  shifted  from  the  present  theatre  of 
suspicion,  and  directed  on  him. 

Somehow  he  now  assumed  in  my  eyes,  quite  against 
all  principles,  a  position  of  greater  dignity.  He  was  not 
the  mere  lubberly  horse  jockey  he  had  seemed,  but  the 
mainspring  of  a  criminal  gang.  As  such  he  claimed  my 
respect  for  a  cleverer  man  than  I  had  ever  imagined 
him  to  be.  I  took  it  that  his  superficial  appearances 
and  his  bluff  assurance  were  in  reality  astute  disguises, 
and  I  wondered  at  the  naturalness  they  had.  At  the 
same  time  I  wondered  also  why  I  had  not  been  per- 
spicacious enough  to  see  him  before  in  his  proper 
sinister  proportions. 

I  was  resolved  to  keep  my  eye  on  Mr.  Eustace,  and 


116        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  was  confirmed  in  my  determination  that  same  after- 
noon by  a  glimpse  of  a  figure  in  the  lanes  about  South- 
ington.  Mr.  Naylor  had  returned.  He  stalked  along 
in  a  lordly  manner,  striking  idly  at  the  hedge  with  his 
stick,  his  Homburg  hat  correctly  dented,  and  the  smoke 
flowing  from  his  fragrant  cigar.  From  underneath  his 
long  lashes  his  feminine  eyes  swept  my  face,  and  re- 
sumed their  modest  survey  of  the  fair  prospect.  I 
passed  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  mere  rustic  and  not  an 
obvious  and  elegant  Londoner ;  but  I  thought  the  more 
when  I  was  Safe  behind  the  Castle  walls.  Mr.  Eustace 
had  paid  a  visit  to  the  house  the  previous  evening  with 
one  of  his  confederates  —  I  knew  so  much  from  Per- 
dita.  And  here  was  his  partner,  no  doubt,  walking  the 
hill  in  lofty  indifference.  The  two  facts  augured  some 
new  movement.  I  should  be  on  my  guard.  I  fell  into 
a  deep  reflection,  and  at  last  came  out  of  it  with  a  plan. 
But  for  that  I  must  wait  till  dusk,  and  it  was  at  dusk 
that  I  made  an  alarming  discovery. 

I  had  pity  on  the  abashed  and  penitent  Peter  Toosey, 
and  invited  him  to  tea,  vv^hen  he  discoursed  with  modest 
elegance  on  art.  Thereafter  we  strolled  in  the  garden 
in  that  delicious  summer  evening,  and  I  displayed  my 
borrowed  demesne  before  his  admiring  eyes.  Seeing 
his  appreciation,  I  gave  him  the  liberty  of  the  grounds 
in  a  friendly  way,  and  left  him  to  his  devices.  1  ex- 
plained to  Mrs.  Jackman  that  I  was  going  for  a  stroll 
and  should  not  need  supper  till  late,  and  then  I  set 
off.  It  was  about  eight  o'clock  now,  and  the  light  was 
still  full  and  clear.  I  w^ent  briskly  do^vn  the  lane  with 
the  express  design  of  discovering  how  Mr.  Eustace 
would  spend  his  evening.  When  I  had  reached  the 
village  I  directed  my  steps  without  faltering  to  Mrs. 


On  the  Trail 


IIT 


Lane's  cottage,  and  marching  up  the  pathway  rapped 
on  the  door. 

So  soon  as  I  was  admitted  into  the  parlor,  to  which  the 
girls  had  just  retired  from  their  evening  meal  I  had  to 
find  an  excuse  for  my  visit  —  for  what  I  had  to  say  was 
not  to  be  said  before  Miss  Fuller.  That,  at  least,  I  had 
resolved  —  not  only  to  keep  a  secret  between  us,  but 
also  to  maintain  our  initial  reservation  of  the  delicate 
understanding.  It  was  not,  however,  I  found,  difficult, 
thank  goodness,  to  get  rid  of  Miss  Fuller.  She  was 
a  most  intelligent  woman,  and  she  faded  away  like  a 
snow-wreath  in  June.  I  thought  that  Perdita  seemed 
anxious  to  keep  her,  and  I  winced  at  that ;  but  I  think 
it  emboldened  me  in  my  tactics  all  the  same.  I  threw 
her  a  most  significant  look,  which  had  the  effect  of 
arresting  her  attempts  to  retain  her  companion.  We 
were  alone. 

^'I  did  n't  want  to  speak  before  Miss  Fuller,"  I  be- 
gan eagerly.  "  I  did  n't  know  whether  she  knew  about 
—  the  visitor  last  night." 

"She  always  knows  what  I  do,"  said  Perdita  coolly. 
''Of  course  I  told  her." 

I  might  have  been  taken  aback  by  this  little  snub,  if 
I  had  not  had  some  news  to  impart;  and  so  I  hur- 
ried on. 

"I  want  you  to  allow  me,  if  you  will,  to  sit  here  for 
a  little  this  evening." 

Her  fine  eyebrows  went  up  slightly.  "Have  you  been 
burnt  out  of  your  house,  Mr.  Brabazon?"  she  asked 
with  interest. 

"No,"  I  stammered,  "but  the  fact  is  this  window  is 
the  only  place  I  know  which  commands  the  green,  and 
I  have  reasons  for  wanting  to  watch  it  just  now." 


il8        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


She  looked  at  me  inquiringly,  and  with  an  altered 
expression. 

**I  have  something  to  add  to  your  recognition  last 
night,"  I  said,  weighing  my  words  importantly;  and 
then  I  told  her. 

She  listened  with  a  puzzled  face,  and  then  rose  with 
a  display  of  embarrassment.  ''I  can't  think  you  are 
right,"  she  said.  ''Miss  Harvey  says  he  is  a  gentleman. 
She  likes  him  very  much.  He  plays  the  fiddle,"  she 
added  irrelevantly. 

"Nero  fiddled,"  I  reminded  her,  "and  as  for 
his  being  a  gentleman,  all  I 've  got  to  say  is  that 
if  he  is  he  succeeds  in  assuming  the  groom  most 
triumphantly." 

She  seemed  perplexed.  "Of  course  you  can,  if  you 
think  it  is  right  and  necessary,"  she  said.  "But  —  " 
she  paused. 

I  had  not  used  the  window  yet,  but  I  happened  to 
give  a  glance  out  of  it  now ;  and  I  also  rose,  and  quickly, 
to  my  feet.  I  might  have  been  content  to  sit  and  argue 
and  discuss  the  situation  with  her  all  the  evening,  quite 
oblivious  to  the  gradual  loss  of  the  opportunity  for  which 
I  was  pleading.  But  that  casual  glance  brought  me 
back,  straightened  me,  made  me  interrupt  her  abruptly 
and  stare.  For  into  Eustace's  cottage  across  the  green, 
was  entering,  at  that  very  moment,  no  other  than  the 
sleek  form  of  Jackman. 

"Excuse  me,"  I  cried,  and  made  a  dash  for  the  door. 
But  before  I  reached  it  I  had  realized  my  impotence, 
and  it  flashed  into  my  mind  also  that  the  window  was 
still  the  best  observatory.  I  went  back ;  my  face  alight 
with  excitement. 

"My  man  has  just  gone  in  there,"  I  said. 


On  the  Trail 


119 


Miss  Forrest  started.  "Your  man!  Is  he  trust- 
worthy?  Have  you  had  him  long?"  she  asked. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  him,"  I  answered. 
"He  was  Sir  Gilbert's  legacy  to  me.  He  has  always 
seemed  the  pink  of  decency." 

Over  her  clear  face  a  cloud  passed  slowly,  and  she 
said  nothing ;  her  eyes  dropped  away  from  me.  When 
she  did  speak  it  was  in  another  voice. 

"What  will  you  do?" 

It  sounded  as  if  she  took  no  longer  any  interest  in  the 
matter,  and  I  was  disappointed. 

"If  I  may,  I  will  stay  here,"  I  said. 

"Certainly,"  said  she  in  the  same  voice.  "If  you 
want  books  there  are  some  old  Punches  there." 

She  left  the  room  at  once,  and  I  was  too  engrossed  by 
the  discovery  of  Jackman's  perfidy  even  to  wonder  at 
the  change  in  her. 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  this  remarkable  discovery, 
much  that  had  been  previously  unintelligible  was  now 
easy  to  understand.  Jackman  was  in  league  with  the 
gang;  and,  now  that  I  recalled  it,  it  was  plain  that  he 
had  persistently  put  me  off  investigation.  I  remembered 
the  adventures  in  the  gallery  the  first  night,  and  I  re- 
called how  my  candle  had  gone  out  unexpectedly  when 
I  met  Jackman.  Again  !  A  gust  of  wind  had  seemed 
to  come  from  behind  me  when  I  was  descending  the 
stairs  and  had  left  me  a  second  time  in  darkness.  Jack- 
man  had  been  behind  me;  and  I  had  wondered  at  the 
time  at  the  violence  of  the  wind  on  that  gentle  May 
night.  Jackman,  too,  had  offered  on  his  own  initiative 
to  explore  the  orchard  on  the  previous  night,  an  un- 
likely proceeding  for  so  mild  a  man,  but  one  perfectly 
intelligible  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  in  league 


120        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


with  the  marauders.  I  became  indignant  as  I  reflected, 
and  I  watched  the  house  across  the  green  with  jealous 
eyes.  It  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  any  one  ap- 
peared at  the  door,  and  then  it  was  Jackman  who  let 
himself  out  and  walked  across  the  green  and  up  the 
lane  that  climbs  to  the  Castle.  Within  two  minutes  of 
his  disappearance  the  door  again  opened  and  Eustace 
issued  forth.  I  jumped  up.  My  watch  had  brought 
me  so  far  an  astounding  revelation.  I  was  resolved  to 
continue  the  trail  to  the  bitter  end. 

Eustace  left  the  house  and  proceeded  to  the  inn. 
Shortly  afterwards  I  saw  a  horse  being  harnessed  in 
the  yard,  and  I  guessed  that  it  was  for  him.  Leaving 
my  window  now  with  a  tumult  in  my  heart,  I  departed 
from  Mrs.  Lane's  without  seeking  to  take  leave  of  any 
one  and  crossed  to  the  Feathers."  By  this  time  my 
guess  had  been  justified,  and  Eustace,  a  cigar  between 
his  teeth,  was  seated  in  the  dog-cart,  looking  the  very 
model  of  a  coachman.  As  he  drove  off  I  entered  the 
yard  and  made  my  own  request. 

I  will  admit  that  my  turnout  was  by  no  means  so 
smart  as  his,  as  all  I  could  obtain  was  a  little  Devon 
cart.  But  the  pony  was  vigorous  and  willing,  and  rat- 
tled along  the  road  at  a  very  fair  speed.  Eustace  had 
taken  the  road  to  Amcombe,  the  little  town  which  is 
the  station  for  our  neighborhood,  and  I  followed  after. 
I  sighted  him  on  the  outskirts  of  Amcombe,  in  the  dusk, 
and  saw  him  draw  up  at  an  inn.  I  handed  my  cart  and 
pony  into  the  care  of  a  boy,  and  took  up  the  chase  on 
foot. 

Eustace,  with  his  long,  leisurely  stride,  strolled 
towards  the  station,  but  did  not  enter.  He  passed  on 
to  a  shop  near  by,  and  went  in,  while  I  waited  in  the 


On  the  Trail 


121 


falling  light.  A  few  minutes  afterwards  he  emerged 
with  some  letters  in  his  hand,  tearing  open  the  envelope 
of  one  carelessly.  It  was  clear,  then,  that  he  called  for 
letters  surreptitiously ;  and  now  his  character  darkened 
deeper  than  ever. 

I  walked  in  his  wake  towards  the  station,  secure  in  i 
the  gloom,  as  I  thought,  against  his  observation.  Just 
before  we  got  to  it  I  heard  the  groaning  of  the  down 
train  as  the  brakes  checked  it  into  the  platform;  and 
when  Eustace  came  abreast  of  the  doorway  it  shot  out 
its  passengers  —  a  man  and  a  woman  first,  a  party  of 
tourists  happy  together,  and  then  two  men  a  little  be- 
hind them,  the  one  with  a  bag  in  his  hand.  Suddenly  I 
observed  Eustace  wheel  away,  and  slouch  off  in  his 
own  tracks,  a  manoeuvre  that  brought  him  back  towards 
me.  His  act  was  entirely  unexpected  and  caught  me 
by  surprise.  He  went  by  me  quite  close,  but  without 
paying  me  any  heed,  and  as  if  in  considerable  haste. 
As  for  me,  I  walked  on  —  I  could  do  nothing  else  — 
and  I  passed  quite  close  to  the  two  men  at  whom,  as  it 
appeared  to  me,  Eustace  had  shied.  One  was  the  little 
fair  man  who  had  previously  been  staying  in  the 
"Feathers,"  and  the  other,  with  the  bag,  was  a  stranger. 
They  were  eagerly  talking  together,  and  the  stranger 
was  throwing  a  hand  out  in  the  direction  from  which 
I  had  come. 

This  enhanced  the  mystery.  I  could  have  sworn 
Eustace  had  striven  to  hide  himself  from  the  arrivals, 
and  I  now  was  vexed  at  having  lost  sight  of  him.  The 
two  men  had  apparently  seen  him,  and  he  was  under 
discussion  by  them.  What  did  it  mean  I  loitered 
down  the  road  till  I  came  to  the  place  where  I  had  left 
my  pony-cart.    The  boy  was  waiting  patiently,  but  I 


12^        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


left  him  there,  for  I  had  a  sudden  notion  to  look  in  at 
tte  inn  where  Eustace  had  drawn  up.  There  was  a 
bustle  in  the  little  stable  yard,  and  as  I  entered  a  man 
OTsted  past  me  round  the  nose  of  a  horse  which  was 
fei'og  harnessed. 

**^Look  out,  old  man,'*  called  Eustace  to  me  out  of 
the  deepening  gloom.   "I 'm  off  smart.'* 

1  had  just  time  to  step  aside,  and  the  horse,  with  his 
lacad  drawn  back,  ramped  by  me  and  over  the  thresh- 
old of  the  gates  into  the  street.  Next  moment  Eustace 
was  slipping  briskly  down  the  road  on  the  return  to 
Southington.  I  ran  back  to  my  pony,  and,  throwing  a 
c».oin  to  the  boy,  jumped  into  the  trap.  I  was  not  more 
than  a  few  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  my  quarry, 
l>iil  I  had  lost  sight  of  him.  I  could  hear  the  pounding 
of  Ms  horse's  hoofs  on  the  road,  but  the  dark  had 
:^wallowed  him  up.  My  little  pony  struggled  gamely 
to  keep  up,  but  slowly  fell  back  and  soon  I  heard  no 
sound  of  him.  When  at  last  I  reached  Southington  he 
iad  disappeared. 

I  was  now  in  this  predicament.  Eustace  had  fled 
from  the  men  at  the  station  for  some  unknown  reason. 
Should  I  try  to  get  on  his  track  again,  or  should  I  await 
the  arrival  of  the  others,  and  confine  my  attention  to 
Ihem?  I  had  a  feeling  that  perhaps  the  latter  course 
would  be  the  wiser.  If  they  were  after  Eustace  I  should 
Ihus  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone.  As  yet  I  had  not 
atopped  to  wonder  why  he  was  anxious  to  escape  their 
^notice.  I  had  been  too  hot  upon  the  scent  so  far.  But 
flow  I  lost  it  at  the  ''Feathers."  He  had  alighted  in  the 
jTard,  where  his  horse  was  still  smoking,  and  had  left 
a  few  minutes  before  my  arrival.  Had  he  gone  to  his 
mK>ms     I  dared  not  follow  at  the  present  development 


On  the  Trail 


123r 


of  affairs,  and  the  window  at  Mrs.  Lane's  would  no. 
longer  serve  me  as  a  watch-tower.  I  might,  of  course,, 
hang  about  the  green  on  the  chance  of  seeing  Eustace, 
but  I  did  not  like  the  idea  with  its  "long  odds  "  against, 
me.    Should  I  wait  at  the  inn? 

That  was  what  I  did  in  the  end.  I  want  to  set  downi 
the  facts  of  this  evening  in  exact  sequence,  and  I  hope? 
they  will  not  appear  confused,  which,  I  will  confess,, 
they  were  to  me  at  the  time.  I  waited  at  the  "  Feathers 
until  I  heard  the  sound  of  a  trap  without.  Then  I  went 
out.  It  was  quite  dark  by  now,  and  I  could  do  no  more 
than  determine  the  figures  of  three  men  in  a  victoria, 
the  driver  on  the  box,  and  two  others  at  the  back. 
These  latter  got  out,  and  I  knew  my  conjecture  had  not 
gone  wrong,  when  I  saw  that  one  held  a  bag  in  his  hand* 

The  two  men  conferred  a  little,  put  a  question  I  did 
not  hear  to  the  innkeeper,  and  then  separated. 

"I  '11  find  him,"  said  one;  and  this  was  the  one  who 
strode  off  into  the  night.  The  second  man  entered 
the  inn. 

I  did  not  hesitate.  It  seemed  to  me  more  important 
to  keep  the  former  in  view.  He  was  off  in  search  of 
some  one,  and  I  was  off  in  search  of  him.  I  kept 
steadily  in  his  rear  at  a  convenient  distance,  dogging 
him  as  I  had  dogged  Eustace,  and  when  the  rays  of  a 
lamp  from  a  cottage  window  fell  on  him,  and  revealed 
the  sunken  square  head  of  the  little  fair  man,  I  was  not 
surprised.    He  went  up  the  lane  towards  the  Castle, 

Now  the  lane,  as  I  have  said,  was  a  characteristic 
Devon  lane,  running  in  parts  like  a  deep  gutter,  over- 
closed  with  banks  and  trees  above.  And  in  our  passage 
through  this  tract  I  lost  him.  He  vanished  absolutely, 
and  no  sign  of  him  came  back  to  me,  to  ear  or  eye.  1 


124         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


hunted  the  lane,  and  found  sloping  paths  that  ran  up 
the  wall  mto  the  fields  above,  and  as  soon  as  I  was 
brought  up  against  this  my  heart  sank.  If  he  had  struck 
up  to  the  higher  ground  he  had  certainly  evaded  me. 
And  there  was  the  copse  a  little  farther.  He  might  be 
hiding  anywhere  there.  Again,  he  might  have  taken  a 
short  and  private  cut  across  the  fields  to  the  Castle  pre- 
cincts. As  this  dawned  on  me  I  became  anxious  to  get 
home ;  and,  abandoning  all  attempts  to  get  on  the  trail, 
I  hurried  along  the  lane  excitedly. 

I  reached  the  Castle  to  find  my  supper  on  the  table, 
and  Jackman  with  a  suggestion  of  silent  reproach  on 
his  face.  And  not  until  then  did  his  newly  revealed 
perfidy  recur  to  me.  I  looked  at  him  and  wondered 
that  so  specious  a  man  could  be  such  a  hypocrite.  His 
mask  of  a  face  betrayed  nothing,  save  concern  for  a  hot 
dish  which  his  wife  had  prepared  and  which  had  been 
kept  against  my  return.  His  even  tones  degenerated 
not  a  shade  into  an  expression  of  feeling.  He  seemed 
impassive. 

I  was  not  equal  just  then  to  dealing  with  him.  I 
had  lost  both  Eustace  and  the  fair  man,  and  I  was 
tired  and  disgusted.  Only  towards  the  end  of  the 
meal  I  broke  silence.  A  couple  of  glasses  of  cham- 
pagne had  consoled  me,  and  brought  fresh  ideas  and 
new  hopes. 

Jackman,  it  is  possible  that  we  may  be  troubled 
to-night  by  our  old  friends,  the  burglars,  —  perhaps  I 
should  say  the  ghosts."  I  amended  ironically.  ''You 
wili  be  on  your  guard." 

I  looked  him  full  in  the  face.  "Yes,  sir,"  said  he, 
as  if  I  had  ordered  a  piece  of  toast. 

The  man  was  a  consummate  hypocrite  and  a  hardened 


On  the  Trail 


125 


Tascal.  But  he  was  to  meet  his  match,  I  thought,  for 
once  at  least  in  artifice.  He  was  in  league  with  the  gang 
and  Eustace,  and  I  knew  it.  Whoever  came  would  be 
confident  in  the  knowledge  of  a  confederate  within  the 
Castle.  And  now  the  relation  of  the  various  parties 
began  to  trouble  me.  Was  it  possible  that  the  men 
at  the  station  were  detectives  ? 

I  went  out  into  the  fine  night  and  paced  the  lawn. 
The  sky  was  clearing,  and  a  moon  was  vagrant  in  it. 
Upon  the  shingle  the  sea  moaned  and  raked.  A  fine 
wind  blew  out  of  the  west.  I  thought  of  Perdita  under 
the  stars,  and  came  to  with  the  blackness  of  a  shrubbery 
on  the  lawn  threatening  me.  What  lurked  in  that 
formidable  stack  of  gloom  ?  I  turned  away  and  went 
back  to  the  house.  The  situation  was  getting  on  my 
nerves.  I  read  for  a  time  in  the  down-stairs  room,  and 
then  moved  into  the  morning-room  which  opened  on 
the  lawn.  There  was  no  light  here,  and  I  threw  back 
the  French  windows  and  let  the  night  breeze  wander  in. 
Without  all  was  still  and  silent,  except  for  the  wind  in  the 
trees,  and  the  water  on  the  shore. 

Suddenly  this  silence  was  broken  by  noises,  by  a  sort 
of  indistinct  and  distant  clamor.  I  listened  intently, 
and  it  seemed  to  me  I  could  hear  voices  and  the  sound 
of  feet  as  of  some  one  running.  And  then  the  sounds 
faded.  I  pulled  at  the  bell  for  Jackman  on  a  quick 
impulse,  but  no  one  answered.  I  peaied  on  it  continu- 
ously and  could  hear  it  jingling  way  in  the  kitchen 
quarters.  Mrs.  Jackman  appeared  now  with  a  scared 
face,  white  like  death. 

"Did  you  ring,  sir      she  asked. 

It  was  the  silliest  of  questions. 

"Where 's  Jackman  ?"  I  asked  abruptly. 


126      '  The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


**I  —  I  '11  see,  sir,"  she  stammered  in  confusion*  "I 
—  he 's  —  p  'raps  he 's  —  I  '11  see,  sir." 

I  knew  now  what  I  had  wanted  to  learn,  and  I  turned 
my  back  on  her ;  for  the  sounds  were  again  audible,  and 
now  they  definitely  resolved  themselves  into  voices  and 
running  feet.  I  stepped  out  into  the  moonlight,  and  as 
I  did  so  a  dark  figure  shot  across  the  intermediate  lawn 
and  vanished  into  the  shrubbery.  I  gazed.  It  emerged 
from  the  shrubbery,  took  a  flying  leap  across  a  pathway, 
and  passed  from  my  sight  round  the  comer  of  the  Castle. 
He  had  sped  like  a  wraith. 

Since  my  discovery  of  Jackman's  perfidy  I  had 
guessed  as  to  the  means  of  entrance  which  the  burg- 
lar had  found.  He  came  by  the  back,  and  his 
objective  was  naturally  the  strong-room.  I  went  in, 
shut  the  window  swiftly,  and,  going  to  my  drawer  in 
the  other  room  as  fast  as  I  could,  took  out  a  loaded 
revolver. 

Then  I  seized  a  light  and  went  up  the  stairs  noiselessly 
to  the  picture-gallery.  I  walked  the  length  of  this  with 
the  lamp  in  one  hand,  and  the  weapon  in  the  other;  but 
no  one  was  visible,  and  nothing  but  shadows  leaped 
out  on  me  from  the  walls  and  bays  of  the  libraoy.  The 
door  of  the  jewel-room  was  shut.  I  came  back  along 
the  western  wall,  pierced  with  large  mullions,  and  set 
with  portraits,  and  when  I  had  gone  half-way  a  noise 
^  stopped  me.  I  listened  greedily,  and  it  came  as  the 
shuffling  of  a  mouse  in  the  wainscot.  I  was  passing  on 
when  it  grew  louder.  I  paused  again.  It  seemed  to 
^spring  from  the  lower  portion  of  the  room.  I  retraced 
my  steps,  and  stood  flashing  the  light  into  the  bays  of 
book-shelves.  The  noise  was  still  audible,  but  not  so 
loud,  and  it  obviously  came  from  behind  the  shelves  in 


On  the  Trail 


the  wall.  Acting  almost  on  instinct  I  blew  out  the  lamp» 
and  the  moonlight  filed  into  the  chamber. 

There  was  a  dull  click,  and  the  shelves  shook  in  the? 
corner;  and  then  the  light  fell  faintly  on  a  yawning  hole,, 
and  out  of  the  hole  crept  a  man. 

I  waited  a  moment  longer,  and  then,  stepping  into  the 
light,  presented  my  pistol.  The  moon  was  full  on  mj 
face. 

"I  say,  stop  a  bit,"  said  a  voice.    "Damn  it,  I 
Sir  Gilbert  Norroy." 


CHAPTER  IX 


ENTRANCE  OF  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD 

I DON'T  think  my  hand  wavered,  for  the  pistol  was 
still  at  the  level  when  the  man  took  a  step  forward, 
and  I  made  him  out  clearly.   It  was  Eustace  ! 

'^Sir  GUbert  Norroy!"  I  exclaimed.  "Why—" 
"Yes,  old  chap,  I  know,"  he  interrupted.  "But  I'll 
explain.  Look  here,  there 's  some  one  after  me,  and  I 
don't  want  to  be  caught.  Can  we  get  away  ?  Do  you 
mind  ?  I 've  had  the  devil  of  a  run  for  my  money,  —  I 
ought  to  say  some  one  else's." 

He  went  to  the  window  and  stared  out  into  the  garden. 
"Perhaps  they've  given  up.    I  hope  so.    It's  a 
beastly  nuisance.   I  say,  my  boy,  have  you  got  a  drink  ? 
I  can  do  with  a  drink.    I've  had  a  twenty  minutes' 
sprint,  by  Jove !" 

I  said  nothing,  but  took  him  down  the  stairs,  my 
mind  busy  with  this  strange  new  development.  I 
could  not  fit  it  in  with  my  theories  and  my  prejudices 
at  all.  I  was  amazed  and  dumbfounded.  It  was  not 
until  I  got  down  to  the  sitting-room  that  I  spoke. 

I  poured  him  out  a  whiskey  and  pushed  him  the 
syphon.  He  drank  deep  of  it,  and  as  I  eyed  him 
narrowly  I  could  see  the  marks  of  perspiration  on  his 
red  forehead. 

"Good  !"  he  said,  drawing  breath.  "Lord,  I  have 
had  a  trot." 


A  Man  of  the  World 


129 


"Perhaps,  Sir  Gilbert,"  said  I  in  a  measured  voice, 
"^'you  will  explain." 

"I  can  do  a  bit  of  it,"  he  said.  "But  I  want  some 
explanation  myself.  I'm  a  bit  foggy  over  it.  Did  you 
guess  me.?" 

"On  the  contrary,"  I  said,  "I  have  been  under  the 
impression  you  were  a  burglar." 

He  laughed.  "Burglar!"  he  said.  "Good  Lord! 
Well,  I've  been  many  things,  but  I'm  damned  if  I've 
ever  been  taken  for  that  before.   May  I  have  another  ?" 

He  helped  himself  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  and 
looked  about  the  room. 

"It's  all  right,  is  n't  it.?  he  inquired.  "A  cosy  place, 
if  you  like  that  sort  of  thing.  Damned  if  those  walls 
ain't  damp.  I  could  hardly  find  my  way  up  in  the  dark." 

"Sir  Gilbert,"  said  I,  "I  think  you  expressed  a  con- 
viction that  my  desire  for  enlightenment  was  natural." 

"Eh.?  Oh,  all  right.  You  want  me  to  go  ahead.  It's 
a  bit  of  a  story.  Look  here,  did  I  rattle  you  at  all  that 
first  night.?" 

"It  was  you .?"  I  asked. 

"What  do  you  think.?  Yes,  I  got  in  the  usual  way. 
I  wanted  to  go  through  the  gallery,  and  by  Jehoshaphat," 
he  broke  into  a  broad  grin,  "you  gave  me  a  dance.  I 
thought  you 'd  copped  me  once,  at  the  head  of  the  stairs 
there;  but  old  Jackman  played  up  like  a  trump." 

"  Jackman,then,"  said  I  politely,"is  in  this  business .?" 

"Jackman  !  Oh,  yes.  He  was  ten  years  with  me  in 
town;  with  the  governor,  too,  ever  since  I  was  a  kid. 
That  was  why  I  sent  him  down  here.  It  ain't  a  bad 
place,  is  it.?"  he  mused.  "I  don't  know  that  I  should 
like  it  for  a  permanency.  Does  the  old  chap  make  you 
comfortable.?" 

9 


130        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  was  having  my  eyes  opened.  I  could  hardly  spare 
time  for  consecutive  thought.  I  could  only  sit  there  and 
get  it  out  of  him.  This  Sir  Gilbert !  I  muttered  some 
answer,  and  turned  him  back  on  to  the  subject  he 
seemed  to  have  forgotten. 

"That's  all  right.  I'm  coming  to  that.  I  hope  the 
old  boy  has  n't  come  to  any  grief  out  there.  He  came 
out  to  talk  when  I  came  up  after  meeting  that  chap  at 
Arncombe.   I  had  a  narrow  shave." 

This  was  merely  maddening.  What  did  it  all  mean  ? 
"Are  you  a  criminal,  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  ?"  I  asked  in 
my  irritation. 

He  stared,  and  then  grinned.  "Did  you  think  I  was 
wanted?"  he  asked,  and  chuckled  outright.  "Not  by 
a  huge  chalk.  And  yet  I  am  in  a  way.  They 'd  be 
precious  glad  to  clap  a  hand  on  me,  and  why  the  Devil 
they  want  to  I  don't  know,"  he  said  moodily.  "Any- 
way I 'm  not  going  to  risk  the  Courts." 

"If  I  were  you,"  I  said,  with  elaborate  sarcasm,  "I 
would  go  on  explaining  like  this,  so  that  I  can't  fail  to 
understand.  It 's  as  simple  as  A,  B,  C,  and  I  don't 
wonder  children  take  to  it." 

He  opened  his  mouth  at  me.  "Don't  get  shirty,  old 
chap,"  he  said  grinning.  "I'm  coming  to  it.  Look 
here,  it 's  only  duns." 

"Duns !"  I  echoed,  and  with  a  rush  the  whole  build- 
ing I  had  romantically  been  erecting  on  invisible  founda- 
tions slipped  into  a  welter  of  ruins. 

"Yes,  duns,  my  boy.  They've  pretty  nearly  diddled 
me  to-night.   Only  I  managed  to  dodge  'em." 

"There  was  a  man  who  tried  to  serve  me  with  a  writ 
so  soon  as  I  arrived,"  T  said. 

"Was  there.?"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  looking  interested. 


A  Man  of  the  World 


131 


"Sorry.  Yes,  that  was  meant  for  me,  no  doubt.  You 
see  I  skipped  from  London." 

"Suppose  you  hang  it  all  out  to  dry,"  I  suggested. 
"If  it  won't  hurt  your  feelings  I  should  like  to  know." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mind,"  he  said  easily,  and,  feeling  in  his 
pocket,  brought  out  a  cigar-case,  chose  a  cigar  and  lit 
it.  "But  I  hope  you  haven't  been  rattled,  old  chap; 
I  thought  I  scared  you  that  night." 

"You  interested  me,"  I  said,  "and  I  don't  deny 
you've  taken  up  a  lot  of  my  attention.  But  I  don't 
know  that  I'm  sorry.  In  fact  I  begin  to  think  I'm 
sorry  it's  over.  However,  let  us  suppose  I've  been  in 
distress,  and  that  you  are  making  amends  by  open 
confession.   I  think  I  deserve  that  tale.  Sir  Gilbert." 

"All  serene,"  said  he.  "But  there  is  n't  much  of  a 
tale,"  he  added,  scratching  his  head.  "It's  like  this. 
When  my  uncle  died  I  came  into  this  little  bit,  but  it 
is  n't  in  my  line  much.  Mind  you,  I  hang  on  to  it, 
for  it's  been  in  the  family  a  tidy  long  time.  But  I  don't 
much  hanker  after  living  here.  I  like  things  a  bit 
livelier;  what.^  Anyway,  I  did  n't.  But  I  went  the  pace 
a  bit  in  town,  and  had  to  go  to  the  Jews  and  so  on.  And 
at  last  it  came  to  a  crisis." 

He  paused,  and  sipped  his  whiskey.  "  That's  why  I 
let  the  place  and  went  in  for  retrenchment." 

"Why  not  have  retired  yourself  to  your  own  modest 
estate.^"  I  inquired. 

"Could  n't  afford  it.  I  wanted  all  I  could  get.  And 
my  creditors  were  making  things  too  hot  for  me." 

"Then,"  I  asked,  "why  —  what  is  the  reason  you 
are  here.?^" 

Sir  Gilbert  looked  at  me  with  a  quaint  expression  of 
shrewdness  on  his  comical  face.   "The  last  place  they'd 


132 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


think  of  looking  for  me  would  be  my  own  place,"  he 
said.  "Besides  I  had  another  reason.  But  I  gave  out 
I  was  going  abroad,  and  then  skipped  here.  And, 
damn  it,  no  one  would  have  known  I  was  here  if  it 
had  n't  been  for  that  fool,  Sally." 

"Sally!"  I  repeated  vaguely. 

"Sally  Jackman  !" 

"Then  Mrs.  Jackman  is  in  it,  too  ?"  I  said. 

"I  sent  'em  both  down  from  town.  She  was  my 
mother's  parlor-maid.  Jackman  was  the  governor's 
butler.  They've  known  me  since  I  was  a  kid,  and, 
bless  you,  they  'd  go  through  fire  and  water  for  me.  But 
Sally's  got  a  damn  long  tongue.  She  can't  help  it. 
And  she  let  slip  I  was  about  to  some  of  the  villagers,^ 
and,  what's  more,  that  I  was  under  another  name  — 
incog  like  royalty,  you  know."    He  grinned. 

"Then  that  explains  why  I — "  I  began,  a  light 
dawning  on  me. 

"They  supposed  you  were  me,  old  chap,"  said 
Norroy,  laughing  heartily  as  if  it  were  a  great  joke. 
"Knew  I  was  knocking  round  and  took  it  I  was  you 
under  a  false  name.  Great  Scott!"  He  roared  with 
amusement,  though  there  did  not  seem  to  me  very 
much  to  laugh  at.  Sir  Gilbert  had  a  stable  idea  of  a 
joke,  as  he  had  a  stable  idea  of  clothes. 

I  mused.  It  also  explained  Mrs.  Harvey,  and 
perhaps  other  things.  I  saw  now  in  a  flash  that  I  had 
been  Sir  Gilbert  in  the  eyes  of  the  neighborhood.  I 
turned  to  my  companion. 

"Then  these  spies  hanging  about,  and  lurking  in  the 
grounds,  have  been  watching  me,  supposing  me, to  be 
you.^" 

"Hang  it,  no  —  not  all  the  time.   I  wish  they  had/^ 


A  Man  of  the  World  133 


he  said  aggrievedly.  "'They  did  at  first,  and  I  thought 
I  was  all  right.  No  one  suspected  me.  It  just  suited 
me  right  down  to  the  ground,  —  I  mean  in  regard  to 
what  I 'd  come  for.  But  they  were  smart,  smarter  than 
I  thought.  And  that's  why  I'm  here  to-night,"  he 
added  comfortably. 

''Well,  I  have  n't  heard  about  that  yet,"  I  said,  with 
mild  resentment. 

''Oh,  yes,  I'd  better  tell  you  about  that,"  he  has- 
tened on.  "You  see  I  was  going  along  all  right,  and 
chuckling  to  think  the  job  had  been  shifted  on  to  you. 
The  chaps  fooled  about  a  lot,  and  there  was  one  of  'em 
staying  in  the  inn,  and  I  used  to  feel  jolly  pleased  when- 
ever I  stared  him  in  the  face,  while  he  was  keeping  his 
telescope  on  you.  But  they  smelt  a  rat  after  a  time. 
Old  Sally  had  spread  it  about  that  I  was  down  in  dis- 
guise ;  and  some  one  of  their  agents  must  have  reported 
this  right  away.  I  don't  understand  it  all.  Anyway, 
at  last  they  got  the  idea  of  getting  down  a  man  who 
could  recognize  me.  It  was  that  damned  Jew  Lieb- 
felt's  clerk  they  got  hold  of.  And  I  had  a  nasty  scare 
when  I  almost  ran  into  his  arms  at  the  station.  There 
he  was  with  Home,  and  spotted  me,  too,  worse  luck. 
I  made  tracks,  and  they  followed.  I  packed  up  at  my 
diggings,  and  came  up  to  interview  the  old  Jacker 
when  they  got  on  my  track.  I  was  n't  going  to  be 
served  with  writs  if  I  could  help  it,  and  so  I  bolted  for 
it.  Phew,  I  did  have  a  run  for  it.  One  of  their  bull- 
dogs nearly  got  me  on  the  lawn,  but  I  tripped  him  into 
the  shrubbery,  and  I  gave  'em  the  slip,  thank  the  Lord. 
I 've  got  to  keep  my  end  up,"  he  concluded  knowingly. 

"That  reminds  me.  Sir  Gilbert,"  I  interjected.  "Are 
you  a  magician  ?  Do  you  wave  a  wand  and  disappear  ?  " 


134        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"Eh,  what?"  he  stared.  "Oh,  you  mean  the  stairs 
in  the  wall.  Oh,  I  knew  that  when  I  was  a  boy.  It 
leads  down  into  a  shrubbery  along  the  western  wing. 
What  uncle  used  to  call  a  sally-port.  I  '11  show  you 
how,  if  you  come  up." 

Well,  in  the  circumstances,  I  rather  wanted  to  know 
how  I  stood,  and  so  we  went,  Norroy  chatting  in  a 
friendly  way  and  quite  at  his  ease.  When  we  arrived 
at  the  last  bay  of  the  library  where  the  angle  of  the 
walls  was  formed,  he  pointed  out  a  panel  in  the  guise 
of  book-shelves  and  books,  fitting  quite  closely  so  as 
to  escape  the  casual  eye.  This  opened  with  a  spring, 
and  Norroy  flung  the  light  into  the  dark  aperture. 

"I  nearly  barked  my  shins  coming  up  in  the  black- 
ness," he  said.  "It  twists  and  is  awfully  narrow,  but 
it  gets  there.    Try  it." 

I  did  not  think  I  would  try  it  that  night ;  I  was  con- 
tent to  have  solved  the  riddle,  and  back  we  went  to  the 
smoking-room . 

"Nice  little  snuggery,  isn't  it?"  he  asked,  looking 
round. 

"And  now,"  I  said,  ignoring  this,  "what 's  the  next 
move?" 

He  screwed  up  his  face  comically.  "I 've  got  to  get 
out,"  he  said.  "I  '11  do  'em  yet.  I 've  got  my  wind 
again,  and  I 'm  fit  for  a  cross-country  steeplechase  with 
any  one.    Don't  you  worry  your  head,  old  man."  * 

I  was  not  worrying  my  head,  but  I  felt  rather  re- 
luctant to  turn  my  visitor  loose  among  his  persistent 
enemies.  It  was,  of  course,  no  business  of  miiie,  nor 
was  it  very  moral  of  him  to  be  eluding  his  creditors. 
Yet  human  nature  is  at  bottom  sportive,  and  loves  to 
back  the  adventurous  and  the  desperate.    A  forlorn 


A  Man  of  the  World  135 


hope  appeals  to  its  compassion,  and  surely  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy  was  heading  his  own  forlorn  hope.  The  enemy 
environed  us. 

" Can't  you  effect  a  compromise  ?  "  I  suggested,  "and 
straighten  out  your  affairs.^" 

"They  're  a  bit  top-heavy,"  he  said,  without  feeling., 
"I 've  been  piling  it  up  like  a  fool.  There 's  this  place, 
for  instance.  My  solicitors  hold  a  mortgage  on  it  for 
a  lump.  But  they  're  very  decent  about  it  —  don't 
push  me.  And  then  there 's  a  devil  of  a  lot  been  ac- 
cumulating. At  least,"  he  looked  at  me  ruefully,  "per- 
haps you  would  n't  think  it  a  lot,  but  it  runs  to  thou- 
sands, and  when  you  can't  raise  two  brass  farthings 
to  jingle  on  a  tombstone,  it  might  as  well  be  millions. 
No ;  it 's  no  go.  I  might  have  managed  with  old  Lieb- 
felt  and  the  livery  people  and  the  Bond  Streeters,  if 
they  had  n't  parted  with  the  debts.  But  this  chap, 
who  has  taken  it  on,  is  going  to  have  his  pound  of 
flesh." 

"You  mean  to  say,"  I  asked,  starting,  "that  some 
one  has  bought  up  your  debts 

"Yes,  a  chap  called  Home,  as  far  as  I  can  make  out, 
the  little  Johnny  who  was  after  me  to-night  —  the 
Johnny  who  was  staying  in  the  inn."  He  laughed. 
"  Why,  he  must  be  mad  now  to  think  of  the  number  of 
times  he  met  me  face  to  face,  and  was  worrying  for  his 
money." 

I  was  thinking.   The  affair  had  an  odd  look. 

"Were  you  known  to  be  in  difficulties?"  I  asked. 
*'Or  did  they  tliink  you  solvent.^" 

He  grinned.  "I  should  guess  they  knew  all  about 
me  in  London  Town,"  he  said.  "I 've  been  going  the 
pace,  and  these  Johnnies  know  pretty  well." 


136         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


''Then  why  should  Mr.  Home  have  the  grand  idea 
of  buying  up  your  debts?"  I  asked. 

He  blinked  at  me.  ''Dunno,"  he  said.  ''May  I 
have  one  more,  old  chap,  a  nightcap  before  I  turn  out, 
what?" 

I  made  a  gesture  of  assent,  and  considered  as  I  eyed 
him. 

"I 've  been  watching  this  pretty  carefully,"  I  said 
at  last,  "and  I  won't  pretend  to  understand  it.  But 
you  seem  to  have  a  lot  of  folk  up  against  you." 

"Home's  agents,"  he  said  indifferently. 

"Well,  there 's  a  good  deal  behind  Home,  if  my  ob- 
ser^'ation 's  right,"  I  replied.  "There 's  a  swell  called 
Naylor." 

"Naylor!"    He  started. 

"They  seem  as  thick  as  thieves,"  I  said. 

"That 's  mm,"  he  said  slowly.  "That  was  the  name 
of  the  chap  that  wanted  to  buy  the  Castle." 

"\Miat?"  I  got  a  little  excited  here.  "Did  any  one 
ask  for  your  estate?" 

"I  got  a  letter  from  a  man  named  Naylor  about  it. 
In  fact  he 's  pressed  me  about  it  —  seemed  to  think  it 
would  suit  his  tastes.  But  I 'm  not  selling.  I 'm  going 
to  cling  on  to  the  old  bricks  and  mortar.  Dash  it,  you 
must  have  some  consideration  for  what 's  been  in  the 
family  so  long." 

"And  Naylor,"  said  I  eagerly,  "is  hand  in  glove 
with  this  Home  and  the  duns.  It  looks  like  a 
game." 

"Think  so?"  he  said  blinking,  and  stuck  his  glass 
in  his  eye.    "What 's  the  game?" 

"I  should  like  to  know,"  I  answered,  "and  between 
us  we  may  know  it.    Naylor  wants  the  Castle,  and 


A  Man  of  the  World  137 


Home,  Naylor's  friend,  wants  to  force  you  into  liquida- 
tion.  That 's  a  good  start  for  us." 

''That 's  what  it  tots  up  to,"  confessed  Sir  Gilbert, 
after  pondering  this.  *'If  I  got  a  judgment  for  the 
money  against  me  I 'd  have  to  file  my  own  petition. 
I 'd  have  to  look  in  at  Carey  Street," 

"And  the  Castle  would  be  sold,"  I  said. 

He  hesitated.  "Yes,"  he  assented,  "as  far  as  the 
estate  goes,  that 's  not  entailed.  Damn  it,"  he  added. 
"It's  rough  luck." 

He  took  it  pretty  easily,  or  seemed  to  do  so.  I  lost 
sight  and  count  of  him  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  I 
heard  his  voice. 

"Well,  I  '11  be  clearing  out."    He  had  risen. 

"You  forget,  they  will  be  on  the  lookout  for  you,"  I 
said. 

"Oh,  I'll  manage,"  he  replied  cheerfully.  "If 
you  '11  let  me  have  old  Jacker  I  '11  make  shift." 

I  went  to  the  window  and  looked  out  on  the  moonlit 
lawn.  No  one  was  visible,  but  I  knew  now  that  the 
house  was  watched.  The  riddle  was  not  solved  yet. 
It  only  began  with  duns. 

"Look  here,  Norroy,"  said  I,  suddenly,  "you  're  not 
going.    You  're  going  to  put  up  here." 

"Not  I,"  he  said  heartily.  "You 've  no  concern 
with  my  business.   It 's  rather  a  shabby  business,  too." 

"Anyway,"  I  said  firmly,  "I 'm  going  to  take  a  hand 
in  it.  You  see  in  a  way  it 's  been  thrust  on  me,  and 
I 've  got  interested.  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  it, 
and  I  should  like  to  know  what  to  make  of  it.  I 've 
never  heard  of  such  persistent  creditors." 

"They  take  the  cake,"  he  said,  "but  I 'm  going  to 
hang  on  to  the  old  place." 


138         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"In  that  case,"  I  argued,  "you  must  hide  here." 

"Honest?"  he  asked.  I  nodded.  "Good  man. 
You  're  a  Chancellor,  Brabazon."  He  breathed  a  sigh 
as  of  relief.  "Well,  old  Jacker  will  be  able  to  fix  me  up 
somewhere,  I 've  no  doubt." 

"Oh,  we  '11  arrange  all  that,"  I  said.  "I  shall  rather 
enjoy  the  fun,  though  I  must  confess  that  in  the  circum- 
stances I  think  you  were  foolish  to  come  down  here." 

I  thought  he  looked  at  me  furtively.  "I  had  a  bit 
of  business  on,"  said  he,  and  after  a  moment  asked: 
"Is  n't  there  some  one  painting  up-stairs  ?" 

"Yes,"  I  said.  "A  Mr.  Toosey,  who  apparently 
designs  to  copy  all  the  art  treasures  of  the  Castle." 

"Yes,  a  good  chap  —  clever  chap,  I  hear,"  said  Sir 
Gilbert,  hurriedly.  "Well,  what  do  you  say  to  getting 
hold  of  Jacker?  A  good  old  boy,  Jacker !" 

"Certainly,"  I  replied.  "If  he 's  in  bed  we  '11  have 
him  out." 

"Bless  your  heart,  I  '11  lay  he 's  not  a  room  off  wait- 
ing," said  Norroy,  confidently.  "This  will  have  put 
him  out." 

It  seemed  he  was  right,  to  judge  from  the  time  Jack- 
man  took  to  answer  the  bell.  His  face  expressed  noth- 
ing, nor  did  he  bear  any  visible  sign  of  disturbance. 
He  looked  at  us  as  if  it  were  the  most  natural  thing  in 
the  world  that  we  should  be  sitting  there  together  at 
midnight. 

"Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  will  stay  with  me  for  the  present, 
Jackman,"  I  said  slowly,  "and.  I  want  you  to  prepare 
a  room  at  once." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Jackman. 

"Beat  'em  on  the  post,  Jacker,"  remarked  his  master, 
genially. 


A  Man  of  the  World 


139> 


**Yes,  sir,"  said  Jackman,  without  emotion. 

When  he  was  gone  my  mind  flashed  back  over  his 
association  with  me  and  the  events  of  the  last  few  weeks, 
and  I  remembered  something. 

"That  note-book  !"  I  cried.   "Did  you  take  that 

"No,  Jacker,"  said  Norroy,  dropping  his  eye-glass,  and 
surveying  me  with  deliberation.  "  Jacker  did  n't  know 
what  it  might  be,  and  thought  it  might  give  me  away." 

"Well,  it  did,"  said  I,  dryly.  He  stared,  and  I  told> 
him  of  my  recognition-  of  the  handwriting. 

"Oh,"  he  said  easily,  "that  don't  matter." 

"Well,  it  mattered  more  than  a  mere  scrappy  list  of- 
the  pictures  in  your  gallery  did,"  I  said. 

"Oh,  you  saw  that.^^"  he  asked,  and  looked  at  me^. 
I  thought,  a  little  sheepishly.  "Weil,  old  chap,"  he 
went  on,  "you  're  doing  me  an  awful  good  turn,  and  I 
don't  mind  letting  you  into  the  secret.  But  don't  give 
it  away.   It  was  an  idea  of  mine." 

This  was  the  third  or  fourth  time  he  had  referred  to 
an  idea. 

"What's  that.?"  I  asked. 

"Well,  you  see,  it 's  these  pictures,"  said  Sir  Gilbert, 
and  his  face  assumed  a  knowing  aspect.  "They  're  by 
some  thundering  good  fellows,  and  some  of  them  have 
been  in  the  family  a  long  while.  Of  course  I  would  n't 
get  rid  of  the  family  portraits,  don't  you  know.  But 
the  other  stuff  's  awful  dull,  and  I  thought  I 'd  get 
'em  copied." 

"To  duplicate  the  dullness,"  I  said  sarcastically. 

Sir  Gilbert's  look  of  knowingness  increased.  "Not 
much,"  he  said.  "You  see  they're  heirlooms  —  got 
to  go  down  to  my  descendants,  don't  you  know,  and 
all  that  sort  of  thing.    Well,  I  haven't  got  any.  So 


140        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


they  can't.  And  it  occurred  to  me  that  they  were  no 
use  if  I  hadn't.  See.^"  Sir  Gilbert  explained  em- 
phatically with  his  hands  to  assist  him,  as  if  anxious 
that  I  should  see  his  point.  ''If  I  die  those  pictures  go 
nowhere;  well,  I  have  n't  got  any  descendants,  so  I 'm 
not  cheating  any  one.  Consequently,  I  don't  see  why 
I  should  n't  sell  'em.  What  ?  My  solicitors  told  me  I 
couldn't."  He  chuckled.  ''But  I  can.  I  got  this 
Toosey  man  through  a  friend  of  mine,  a  chap  who 
writes  sporting  novels,  to  come  down  and  copy  'em. 
And  then  I  '11  ship  the  originals  off  to  America,  and 
sell  'em,  and  stick  the  copies  up,  what.^" 

My  face  fell  before  this  amazing  scheme,  and  I  had 
a  violent  inclination  to  go  into  a  fit  of  laughter.  Sir 
Gilbert  sat  there  v/ith  an  earnest  countenance,  his  eye- 
glass levelled  on  me,  painfully  marshalling  in  his  mind 
ihe  arguments  which  had  led  him  into  a  career  of  crime. 
He  seemed  anxious  I  should  understand. 

"You  see,  Brabazon,  they  can't  go  to  my  descend- 
ants because  I  have  n't  got  any.  So  it 's  all  right.  I 
can't  cheat  people  who  ain't  born,  can  I?" 

"Suppose  you  do  have  any      I  got  out  at  last. 

"Oh,  Lord,  no,  not  me,"  he  said  decisively,  and 
seemed  to  think.  "If  I  did  have  any  I 'd  buy  'em  back, 
or  make  it  up  to  them  somehow.  But  not  me."  He 
thought  awhile.  "There  was  a  sort  of  family  notion 
that  I  was  to  marry  my  cousin,  Miss  Rivers,"  he  went 
on.  "She 's  got  pots  of  money,  they  say  —  father  was 
a  manufacturer  up  north  somewhere.  But  I 've  never 
seen  her,  and  I  don't  buy  a  pig  in  a  poke.  I 'm  not  on 
sale."  He  was  silent  a  moment  longer,  and  then  added, 
tquite  irrelevantly:  "Smart  girl,  Miss  Harvey,  ain't 
she.^  I  say,  she 's  a  fair  flyer,  Brabazon,  what 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  BUTCHER  BOY 

THE  mystery,  which  had  seemed  about  to  solve 
itself,  had  now  in  my  eyes  taken  a  darker  color. 
As  I  told  Norroy,  I  had  never  heard  of  creditors  wha 
pressed  a  victim  with  such  ruthlessness.  Not  but  what 
they  had  some  excuses,  if  one  examined  the  matter- 
calmly.  This  young  man  had  "outrun  the  constable" 
in  a  most  reckless  way,  and  he  must  now  pay  the 
penalty.  So  far  as  I  could  gather  from  his  eminently 
disconnected  statements,  the  Castle  was  mortgaged 
pretty  fully,  and  a  sale  would  bring  but  a  small  sum  in 
excess.  There  was  that  amount  of  reason  at  any  rate 
in  his  refusal  to  go  to  the  market,  quite  apart  from 
sentiment.  Sentiment  I  somehow  found  odd  in  Sir 
Gilbert  Norroy.  His  creditor,  who  had  bought  up  his 
debts,  had  another  reason  for  wishing  to  push  him  to 
extremes,  —  he  wanted  the  estate.  And  Norroy  had  a 
sentiment  against  this  compulsory  sale.  I  did  not 
blame  him,  though  I  wondered  at  it  in  him.  And  I 
had  undertaken  to  help  him. 

It  was,  after  all,  an  easy  matter  in  practice,  what- 
ever might  be  alleged  against  it  in  morals.  My  guest 
was  not  difficult,  and  in  a  way  he  seemed  businesslike. 
He  visited  Toosey  next  morning  to  inspect  his  progress 
in  the  nefarious  work  of  copying  the  pictures,  and  came 
back  very  much  pleased. 


142         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"He 's  making  a  rattling  job  of  it,"  he  declaredr 
"You  would  n't  know  one  from  the  other." 

Toosey,  it  appeared,  was  not  party  to  the  criminal 
transaction,  being  hired  to  reproduce  the  replicas 
without  knowledge  of  their  ultimate  destination. 

"Does  he  know  who  you  are?"  I  inquired. 

"Damned  if  I  know,"  said  Norroy,  suddenly.  "I 
talked  a  bit  about  things  —  told  him  what  I  wanted." 

"All  right,"  I  said,  seeing  the  sort  of  man  I  had  to 
deal  with.    "I  '11  see  hun." 

I  went  up.  Mr.  Toosey  greeted  me  with  constraint, 
for  I  don't  think  he  fully  trusted  me. 

"Mr.  Toosey,"  said  I,  "that  was  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy 
who  paid  you  a  visit." 

"I  thought  so,"  said  Peter  Toosey,  screwing  up  an 
^^ye  to  examine  his  color. 

"The  fact  is,"  said  I,  "he 's  in  trouble." 

Mr.  Toosey  put  down  his  palette.  "Police?"  he 
a^ked  w^ith  interest. 

"Well,  not  precisely." 

Mr.  Toosey  seemed  disappointed. 

"Duns!"  I  said. 

He  laughed.  "Oh,  duns!"  as  if  that  mattered 
nothing  in  the  least. 

"The  fact  is,"  said  I,  again  playing  on  the  adven- 
turous heart  I  had  detected  in  him,  "all  these  people 
are  after  him."  I  waved  a  hand  vaguely  at  the  window. 
Mr.  Toosey's  eyes  sparkled.  "And  I 'm  hiding  him. 
I  don't  want  you  to  mention  he  is  here,  seeing  I  've 
taken  you  into  my  confidence." 

"Naturally,"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  "I  should  have  said 
^nothing  as  a  gentleman.  But,  of  course,  if  it 's  duns 
I 'd  do  it  on  principle." 


The  Butcher  Boy 


143 


''Thank  you,"  I  said.  "We  must  keep  him  quiet. 
He  must  lie  low.   We  must  guard  him,  Toosey." 

He  was  gravely  interested.  "I  '11  think  out  a  plan,'* 
he  said  presently.    ''You  may  rely  on  me." 

I  marched  out  triumphant,  and  found  Norroy  turning 
over  the  leaves  of  an  illustrated  weekly,  containing 
examples  of  female  beauty,  with  every  appearance  of 
absorption. 

"I 've  silenced  him,"  I  said.  "He 's  constitutionally 
the  foe  of  duns." 

"Thanks,  old  chap,"  said  Norroy.  "I  say,  isn't 
this  girl  a  bit  like  Miss  Harvey,  what  ?  Rattling  good 
figure !" 

"That  reminds  me,"  I  went  on.  "What  are  we  to  do 
about  those  ladies?  Mrs.  Harvey  and  her  daughter 
are  sure  to  call  in  a  day  or  two.  They  '11  find  you  here. 
To  them  —  well,  you  are  still  Mr.  Eustace,  you  know.'* 

"Gilbert  Eustace  is  my  name,"  said  he,  sticking  in 
his  eye-glass  and  staring  at  me.  "Look  here,  I 'm  not 
on  to  be  known  just  now.  Let  us  wait  a  bit.  I 'm 
Eustace  still." 

"Very  well,"  said  I.  "I  '11  tell  Jackman.  And  you 'd 
better  make  yourself  as  comfortable  as  you  can  while 
we  reconnoitre." 

I  visited  the  village  later  in  the  morning,  leaving 
Jackman  to  mount  guard,  but  I  saw  nothing  of  the 
ladies.  Nor  had  I  time  to  call,  as  I  should  like  to  have 
done,  for  I  was  on  a  mission  to  secure  some  of  Norroy's 
belongings  from  his  lodgings.  I  bore  a  letter  to  his 
landlady,  giving  instructions  that  they  should  be  sent  to 
the  station  at  Arncombe,  which  had  occurred  to  us  as  a 
cunning  device  in  the  event  of  inquiries  being  made  at 
the  cottage.   I  felt  I  ought  to  inform  Miss  Forrest  that 


144         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


our  suspicions  in  regard  to  Mr.  Eustace  were  unfounded, 
and  I  resolved  to  do  so  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  We 
had  lunch  comfortably,  during  which  I  learned  a  good 
deal  more  about  Norroy's  affairs,  and  was  vastly  en- 
tertained by  his  philosophy,  if  I  may  so  dignify  it.  He 
had  an  excellent  belief  in  his  knowledge  of  the  world, 
a  perfect  confidence,  and  a  straightforwardness  in 
speech  which  was  exemplary.  He  had,  I  judged,  the 
simple  mind  and  instincts  of  a  superior  animal,  carried 
off  by  bluff  good  manners,  and  his  good  nature  was 
imperturbable.  He  did  not  even  display  any  animus 
against  his  persecutors. 

"A  rum  business,"  was  his  verdict  on  their  proceed- 
ings, and  he  seemed  to  want  to  go  no  deeper.  ' 

About  four  o'clock  I  heard  a  ring  at  the  front  bell, 
and  presently  Jackman  entered  to  acquaint  me  that  a 
gentleman  desired  to  see  me.  He  glanced  at  his  master, 
and  I  saw  that  he  would  have  said  something  if  he  had 
not  been  a  perfect  servant.   I  took  the  card. 

"This  is  coming  to  close  quarters,"  I  remarked  with 
a  whistle.    "Horne !" 

Norroy  looked  up.  "The  little  chap  with  the  big 
head,"  he  said.    "I 'd  better  make  myself  scarce." 

I  thought  so,  too,  and  presently  when  Mr.  Horne  was 
ushered  in  I  was  alone.  He  gave  me  an  awkward  bow, 
and  came  forward  still  more  awkwardly,  sitting  down 
on  the  extreme  edge  of  a  chair, 

"How  can  I  serve  you,  Mr.  Horne?"  I  asked 
cheerfully. 

"Well,  I  called  about  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy,"  he  said  in 
.a  soft  voice,  his  bright  eyes  dancing  on  me.  "I  hold 
bills  of  his,  and  I 'm  anxious  to  have  them  paid." 

He  looked  very  simple  and  gentle,  but  I  could  hardly 


The  Butcher  Boy  145 


believe  him  so.  Anyway,  I  was  glad  to  have  the  ground 
cleared  for  action. 

"And  why  come  to  me.^"  said  I,  as  amiably  as  he. 

''Because  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  Sir  Gilbert 
is  here,"  he  said  piumply. 

''Oh!"  I  replied.  "Is  that  so?  And  what  if  he 
should  be?    What  has  it  to  do  with  me?" 

"We  thought  you  might  be  willing  to  meet  us,  Mr. 
Brabazon,"  he  proceeded  composedly.  "You  see  we 
stand  to  lose  a  biggish  sum  in  the  matter,  and  it  would 
be  obliging  us  very  much  if  you  met  us." 

I  smiled  at  the  preposterous  notion  that  I  should 
stand  in  with  the  dunner  in  the  matter  of  his  quarry. 

"There  does  n't  seem  very  much  reason  in  that  idea," 
I  observed.  "Have  you  any  reason  for  thinking  I 
should  help  you  to  catch  your  man  —  that,  I  take  it, 
is  what  you  mean." 

"Well,  hardly,"  he  said.  "You  see,  if  you  would 
allow  us  to  see  Sir  Gilbert,  it  would  simplify  matters, 
and  would  n't  in  any  way  hurt  you.  It  would  be  a  con- 
venience to  us.   That 's  all  we  ask." 

"W^hy  suppose  he  is  here?"  I  asked,  going  on  an- 
other tack. 

"Oh,  we  know  that,"  he  asserted  coolly. 

I  pondered.  "I  dare  say  you  know  your  own  busi- 
ness best,  Mr.  Home,"  I  said.  "And  if,  as  you  say. 
Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  is  here,  I  can  assure  you  he  has 
never  entered  with  my  knowledge." 

He  seemed  slightly  ruffled,  and  shifted  on  his  chair. 
"We  happen  to  knov/  he  has  often  been  here,"  he  said. 

They  had,  then,  noticed  Norroy 's  visits,  but  had  not 
until  now  suspected  him.    I  rose. 

"Good  afternoon,  Mr.  Home." 

10 


146        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


He  lingered.  "The  course  I  propose  would  not  in 
any  way  embarrass  or  compromise  you,  sir,"  he  said. 
"I  merely  wish  to  see  Sir  Gilbert.'* 

"Oh,  you  are  quite  at  liberty  to  see  him,"  I  said. 
"But  why  come  to  me  ?" 

"If  you  will  allow  me  to  explain  —  "  he  began,  but  I 
interposed. 

"I  don't  think  so.  I  have  wished  you  good  after- 
noon." 

Still  he  would  not  go.  "I  think  I  have  made  myself 
clear,  Mr.  —  Mr.  Home.^^"  I  said  meaningly. 

"In  this  matter  — "  he  began.  I  rang  the  bell,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  he  turned  and  listened  to  it.  "The 
matter  involves  a  heavy  loss  for  me,"  he  went  on,  "and 
I  think  it  might  be  settled  with  a  little  negotiation  be- 
tween the  parties.  I  come  in  a  friendly  spirit  — " 
Jackman  had  not  come.  I  rang  again  angrily.  "You 
see  —  " 

"Mr.  Horne,  if  I  do  not  see  you  outside  in  two 
minutes  I  '11  take  a  gross  liberty,  but  one  nevertheless 
allowed  by  law.  I  am  allowed  to  use  just  the  proper 
force,  you  will  remember." 

Where  the  mischief  was  Jackman  ?  At  last  I  heard 
a  door  go,  the  feet  of  a  man  running  in  the  hall.  Mr. 
Horne  picked  up  his  hat  and  hastily  retreated,  as  Jack- 
man  burst  into  the  room  in  a  flurry  of  disorder. 

"Show  that  gentleman  out,"  I  called  impatiently. 

"Yes,  sir."  Jackman,  much  winded  and  discom- 
posed of  face,  preceded  my  visitor  to  the  door.  Then 
he  came  back. 

"Why  on  earth  did  n't  you  come  before.^"  I  asked. 
"I 've  had  to  put  up  with  that  little  toad  for  quite  ten 
minutes." 


The  Butcher  Boy  147 


"I  —  I'm  sorry,  sir,  but  I  had  an  alarm,"  panted 
Jackman. 

"What  was  that?"  I  inquired. 

"I  —  the  butcher  came  to  the  door  to  say  Miss 
Harvey  had  an  accident  with  her  car,  sir." 
"What.?"  I  cried. 

"Yes,  sir  —  down  by  the  shrubbery,  sir;  but  I 
could  n't  find  it." 

I  had  been  walking  sharply  to  the  door  and  stopped 
now.  "Couldn't  find  it!"  I  repeated.  "Couldn't 
find  the  car,  Jackman?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Where  did  the  boy  say?" 

"I  understood  it  was  down  by  the  shrubbery,  sir, 
near  where  the  tradesmen's  road  runs  into  the 
drive." 

"We'd  better  make  inquiries  at  once,"  I  said. 
"Where 's  the  boy?" 

"I  don't  know,  sir.  I  think  he 's  gone,"  said  Jack- 
man,  weakly. 

"Look  here,  Jackman,  all  this  is  very  odd,"  I  said. 
"It  wants  going  into,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  Send 
Mrs.  Jackman  to  me." 

"She 's  —  I  can't  find  her,  sb." 

There  was  a  silence  between  us,  and  then  I  said: 
"Come,  Jackman,  let  us  have  it." 

The  niask  fell  partially  from  the  man ;  he  began  to 
talk  almost  like  a  human  creature.  "I  believe  there 's 
something  bad  in  it,  sir.  I  could  n't  find  any  sign  of 
an  accident,  or  of  a  car.   It  looked  like  a  put-up  job." 

"To  get  you  away,"  I  said.  "Well,  but  what  about 
the  butcher-boy?"  I  asked. 

"I  can't  understand  him,  sir,"  said  Jackman. 


148        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


**Well,  we 'd  better  find  Mrs.  Jackman,"  I  said* 
"That 's  our  first  duty." 

As  I  passed  into  the  hall  I  turned  the  key  of  the  front 
door  against  emergencies,  and  then  we  sought  the  back 
parts  of  the  Castle.  The  door  from  the  kitchen  into 
the  courtyard  was  open,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  Mrs. 
Jackman.  We  went  out  through  the  courtyard  into 
the  area  of  shrubs  behind  that  abutted  towards  the 
kitchen  gardens,  but  still  no  discovery  rewarded  our 
efforts.  The  kitchen  gardens  are  entered  through  a 
big  yew  hedge,  and  on  one  side  of  this  is  a  wild  growth 
of  trees,  elders  and  hazels  and  the  like,  flourishing 
during  these  last  years  of  the  present  ownership  with 
luxuriant  disorder.  Here,  too,  is  a  small  shed  used 
once  maybe  as  a  depot  for  gardeners'  tools,  red-tiled, 
and  green  with  creepers.  As  we  passed  near  this  I 
heard  a  cry.  We  listened  greedily,  and  it  was  repeated 
in  a  wail  of  terror. 

"Sally!"  brought  forth  Jackman.  "Beg  your  par- 
don, sir,  Mrs.  Jackman." 

He  turned  to  the  shed,  and  examined  the  door,  which 
was  padlocked  outside.  But  the  key  was  in  the  lock, 
and  in  a  minute  or  two  we  had  the  door  open.  Mrs. 
Jackman,  with  a  scared  and  tear-stained  face,  met  us 
with  a  gasp  of  relief.  Her  explanations  were  simple,  so 
simple  that  I  could  almost  have  laughed.  The  butcher- 
boy  had  been  busy  with  her  earlier  than  with  her  hus- 
band, but  her  excitable  feminine  nature  did  not  warrant 
such  a  plausible  trick  as  had  disengaged  Jackman  from 
his  duty.  She  had  been  informed  that  Miss  Harvey  had 
had  an  accident,  and  was  in  the  shed  and  that  water 
was  needed  immediately.  On  the  fleet  wings  of  mercy 
the  poor  woman  sped  to  find  herself  an  easy  captive. 


The  Butcher  Boy  149 


Jackman,"  said  I,  *'that  butcher-boy  is  a  genms/' 

"I  '11  get  him  dismissed  at  once,  the  wretch,"  sobbed 
Mrs.  Jackman.  ''I  can't  imagine  why  Eastwoods  got 
rid  of  the  other  one." 

I  pricked  up  my  ears.   "The  other  !"  I  said. 

"Yes,  he 's  a  new  boy,"  said  the  lady,  drying  her  eyes. 

It  only  made  me  conceive  a  greater  respect  for  our 
opponents. 

"How  do  you  know  he  was  the  butcher-boy?"  I 
inquired  with  interest. 

"From  his  blue  apron,  and  having  no  hat,  sir,"  said 
Mrs.  Jackman,  as  if  it  were  ridiculous  to  ask  such  a 
question. 

"Well,  he  was  n't,"  I  said  sharply.  "And  the  sooner 
we  get  back  the  better.  Jackman,  does  n't  it  strike 
you  as  remarkable  that  while  I  am  engaged  with  one 
gentleman  in  the  front,  both  Mrs.  Jackman  and  you 
are  inveigled  away  by  another  at  the  back?  You  see 
what  the  eiffect  is  —  to  leave  the  house  bare  of  its 
defences." 

"Good  Lord,  sir,"  said  Jackman,  startled. 

We  hurried  back,  and  entered.  I  had  not  a  doubt 
now  as  to  the  ruse  and  its  purpose.  Home  could  not 
have  hoped  for  one  moment  to  enlist  my  sympathies  on 
his  behalf.  His  visit  was  timed  as  a  trick,  as  part  of  an 
ingenious  campaign.  He  held  me  in  conversation  in 
the  front  while  his  confederates  enticed  the  Jackmans 
away.  In  the  meantime  I  had  no  doubt  that  one  of 
the  gang  had  effected  an  entrance  into  the  Castle.  Our 
business  now  was  to  find  him. 

But  there  was  a  prior  inquiry.  Going  back  to  what 
I  have  called  in  these  pages  my  smoking-room  I  called 
Norroy  by  name.   There  was  no  answer.   I  passed  into 


150        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


the  moming-room  and  repeated  the  call,  still  without 
success.  Then  I  thought  he  had  perhaps  retired  to  his 
bedroom  which  was  in  the  western  wing  near  mine, 
and  I  tramped  down  the  passage. 

"What 's  up i  Has  he  gone?"  said  a  voice,  and  Sir 
Gilbert  appeared  at  a  door. 

"I  want  you  to  lock  yourself  in  for  a  little.  There 's 
mischief  afoot,"  I  said. 

He  came  out  into  the  passage.  *'Lock  myself  in, 
what.?"  he  said. 

"I  believe  there 's  some  one  secreted  in  the  house," 
I  explained.    "We  're  going  to  have  a  look." 

"All  right,  old  chap.  Let  me  get  a  paper  or  some- 
thing." 

"Go  back,"  I  urged.  "I  '11  get  you  it.  Don't  be  a 
fool." 

He  went  back  obediently,  and  I  slipped  back  into 
the  smoking-room  and  grabbed  a  picture  paper.  As  I 
came  round  into  the  passage  I  heard  a  conversation 
overhead,  and  almost  at  the  same  time  the  stamp  of 
f eeb  on  the  stairs  at  the  foot  of  the  passage.  Then  there 
burst  into  view  running  at  breathless  speed  the  butcher- 
boy,  with  Jackman  panting  behind  him ;  simultaneously 
a  scuffling  fell  on  my  ear,  and  I  caught  sight  of  Toosey 
sprawling  in  a  heap  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 

In  another  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the  butcher- 
boy  would  be  in  my  arms,  when  (will  it  be  credited  ?) 
the  sound  of  a  fiddle  came  from  Norroy's  room  near  by. 
I  cursed  him  for  an  egregious  ass,  and  cursed  the  chance 
that  had  made  me  fetch  it  for  him  from  his  rooms  that 
morning.  The  running  intruder  pulled  up  and  made  a 
dive  at  the  door,  and  to  my  horror  it  opened.  It  had 
not  been  locked  according  to  my  instructions.    I  Sew 


The  Butcher  Boy  151 


after  him,  and  stretching  a  long  arm  seized  his  flying 
blue  apron.  This,  with  the  impetus  of  his  dash,  tripped 
him  up,  and  he  came  to  the  floor  with  a  bump.  I 
dragged  him  forth  by  the  foot  despite  his  struggles, 
and  with  the  help  of  Jackman  I  got  him  up,  and  with 
one  —  two  —  thi^ee  and  away,  we  flung  him  like  a  sack 
between  us  through  the  open  doorway  into  the  court- 
yard, where  he  bit  the  accumulated  dirt  of  the  unswept 
area. 

Rattling  good  throw  that,  —  beats  rugger  all  to 
fits,"  said  a  voice  in  my  ear,  and  turning  I  saw  Norroy's 
equable  face  fitted  with  its  eye-glass  looking  over  my 
shoulder. 

"Oh,  don't  be  an  ass,  and  do  go  back,"  I  panted. 

Jackman  banged  the  door,  and  the  sham  butcher- 
boy,  who  had  scrambled  to  his  feet,  was  understood  to 
be  threatening  us,  by  his  gesticulating  fist,  with  the  law. 
His  face  was  smutched  with  dirt  and  blood,  and  he 
looked  a  wretched  object. 

"Run  him  off,  Jackman,"  I  said. 

The  butler  v/anted  no  further  inducement,  as  I 
fancy  he  had  a  score  to  pay  off  upon  the  butcher-boy. 
He  opened  the  door  again  and  gave  chase.  The  server 
of  writs  took  to  his  heels  and  disappeared  around  the 
comer  of  the  Castle,  with  Jackman  manfully  toiling 
in  his  rear. 

"Deuced  narrow  shave,  old  chap,"  said  Sir  Gilbert, 
still  at  my  elbow. 


CHAPTER  XI 


IN  MY  lady's  chamber 

BY  this  time  I  felt  something  like  a  criminal  escaping 
from  justice,  a  coiner  evading  the  officers,  or  a 
smuggler  dodging  the  preventive  men.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  the  thunders  of  the  law  must  inevitably  be  trained 
on  Norroy  Castle.  But  I  did  not  care;  indeed  I  re- 
joiced in  the  prospect.  And  if  Norroy  did  not  rejoice, 
he  certainly  was  indifferent. 

We  had  repulsed  the  first  attack,  but  I  was  fearful  as 
to  the  campaign  they  would  open  out.  They  might  get 
an  order  for  permission  to  substitute  service.  In  my 
plentiful  ignorance  of  the  law  I  knew  that  such  a  thing 
was  possible,  as  I  had  often  seen  advertisements  to  such 
effect  in  the  papers.  And  so  we  discussed  affairs  with 
that  possibility  in  view.  Yet  throughout  the  next  day 
the  cordon  of  spies  was  not  broken,  and  it  was  clear 
that  Mr.  Horne  and  his  friends  had  not  relaxed  their 
vigilance.  I  recognized  my  cockney  friend  at  the  gates, 
and  nodded  to  him  in  an  affable  manner. 
"A  long  job.^^"  I  queried. 

"What  do  you  think  he  countered  with  a  grin, 
and  stuck  a  twopenny  cigar  between  his  teeth.  "Tidy 
little  place,"  he  commented.  "Niceish  bit  of  sea,  too, 
though  it  wants  a  promenade  badly.  If  I  'ad  that,"  he 
indicated  the  estuary  with  his  dirty  thumb,  "I 'd  run  a 
pier  like  Southend  across  it.  Get  no  end  of  people 
down  then." 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber  15S 


I  shuddered  as  I  laughed.  "A  ripping  idea!"  I 
said,  lighted  his  cigar  for  him,  and  then  applied  the 
match  to  my  own  cigarette.  He  puffed  away  content- 
edly, and  beamed  on  me  amiably.  We  met  on  neutral 
ground,  and  exchanged  civilities  like  gallant  foes  at 
odds  for  a  principle  but  with  no  personal  animus. 

"Then  there 's  them  caves,"  he  went  on.  "Why, 
they 'd  make  the  fortune  of  any  seaside  place.  I 'd  'ave 
'em  in  a  Syndicate  if  I  had  my  way.  I  wonder  the 
Governor  here  does  n't  do  it." 

He  threw  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder  towards  the 
Castle. 

"Tidy  way  they  go  in,"  he  said,  puffing  again.  "I 
did  a  crawl  in  myself  yesterday  afternoon,  but  the 
tide 's  a  bit  dangerous,  and  I  should  n't  care  to  be 
caught  there,  not  much." 

"Now  where  should  I  find  Mr.  Naylor,  if  I  wanted 
him.?^"  I  asked  as  I  left  him. 

He  stared.  "Naylor,"  he  said  with  his  cockney 
twang.  "Who'she.?^" 

"I  thought  he  was  a  friend  of  yours,"  I  replied. 

He  shook  his  head.  "I 'm  from  London.  I  don't 
know  any  about  here." 

"And  the  butcher?"  I  ventured. 

A  broad  grin  spread  over  his  face.  "I  told  'em  it 
was  a  rotten  notion,"  he  said.  "Why,  when  he 's 
been  at  it  as  long  as  I  have,  he  '11  have  a  bit  more 
sense.  You  've  got  to  sap,  and  not  to  bombard. 
Sap's  the  game.  See?" 

"I  believe  you  're  right,"  I  said,  pausing  to  reflect. 
"  It  sounds  right,  and  a  most  sensible  policy." 

He  looked  pleased  at  my  approval.  "If  ever  you 
want  anything  in  the  line  done,  sir,"  said  he,  with 


154         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


modesty,  ^'I 'm  always  good  for  a  try."  He  drew  out 
a  soiled  card  with  some  difficulty  from  his  pocket, 
which  read: 

John  Brackett 

Bailiff's  Assistant 
21  Dickens  Street,  Clerkenwell 

"Thank  you,"  I  said  politely.  ''One  never  knows; 
and  so  urbane  a  broker's  man  is  a  treasure." 

I  bade  him  farewell,  and  left  him  doing  sentry-go  at 
my  gates  while  I  went  doT\Ti  to  the  village.  Mr.  Home's 
organization  seemed  to  be  complete,  but  I  had  learned 
that  ostensibly  he  had  no  connection  with  Mr.  Naylor. 
Why  ?  If  this  whole  matter  of  the  debts  was  straight- 
forward, why  was  all  this  secrecy  displayed?  It  puz- 
zled me. 

I  had  been  obliged  to  postpone  the  task  of  explaining 
Mr.  Eustace  to  the  ladies  at  Southington,  but  I  felt  I 
ought  to  delay  no  longer.  I  had  not  been  seen  since  my 
unceremonious  bolt  after  Norroy,  and  I  descended  now 
with  the  object  of  proffering  my  excuses.  I  was  lucky 
enough  to  find  them  at  home,  and  I  was  admitted  by 
Miss  Fuller,  who  seemed  pleased  to  see  me.  I  offered 
my  apologies  for  my  hasty  exit,  and  received  forgive- 
ness as  if  it  was  a  matter  of  no  consequence.  Norroy 
was  anxious  that  his  identity  should  not  be  known,  and 
so  I  felt  myself  somewhat  embarrassed  in  my  mission. 
I  had  to  show  that  I  no  longer  felt  any  doubts  of  Eustace, 
and  yet  to  avoid  identifying  him  with  Sir  Gilbert.  I 
walked  round  the  subject  warily,  and  a  little  awkwardly, 
as  I  was  aware.  And  finally  I  blurted  out  my  chief 
fact. 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber  155 


"You  were  right  about  Mr.  Eustace,  Miss  Forrest. 
He  is  quite  a  respectable  member  of  society." 

"I  was  not  aware  that  I  said  so,"  said  Perdita, 
coolly. 

"Oh,  well,"  I  grew  confused,  "I  thought  you  be- 
lieved in  his  innocence." 

"Refusing  to  believe  that  he  is  mixed  up  in  a  crime 
is  quite  another  matter  from  vouching  for  a  person's 
respectability,"  she  remarked  decidedly. 

"I  accept  the  snub,"  I  said,  "and  I  put  my  neck 
on  the  ground.  You  do  not  necessarily  pass  him.  I 
can  well  believe  you  have  a  high  standard.  Miss 
Forrest." 

She  cast  a  curious  glance  at  me.  "It  is  a  standard, 
at  any  rate,"  she  asserted,  "and  not  nothing." 

"Women,"  said  I,  nursing  my  knee,  and  fixing  a 
sententious  but  appealing  eye  on  Miss  Fuller,  "women 
are  given  to  high  ideals.  They  are  fond  of  climbing 
about  on  giddy  precipices  where  man,  frail  man,  is 
afraid  to  follow  them." 

"That  is  sarcastic,"  observed  Perdita,  primly. 

"Oh,  no,  dear,"  broke  in  kind  Miss  Fuller,  "I  think 
what  Mr.  Brabazon  means  —  " 

"Oh,  don't  let's  have  annotated  editions,"  said 
naughty  Perdita,  impatiently. 

"Let  me  annotate  my  own  sermon,"  I  besought.  "I 
spoke  in  all  humility.  I  see  pinnacles  in  the  empyrean, 
and  I  admire,  but  I  dare  not  attempt  to  reach  them. 
Women  do.  Perhaps  men  are  wiser  in  giving  up,  and 
feeding  practically  in  the  valleys.  After  all,  the  main 
business  of  life  is  feeding  —  mainly  on  others  —  so  the 
herbage  of  the  lower  slopes  for  me !  But  I  have  heard 
that  on  the  top  the  grass  is  sweeter,  and  the  view  finer. 


156        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  should  like  the  grass  if  I  could  get  there.  I 'm  not 
bothered  much  about  views." 

Perdita  examined  me  with  earnest  and  innocent  eyes, 
but  what  she  decided  I  don't  know.  She  changed  the 
conversation  by  a  remark  to  Miss  Fuller.  I  suspected 
that  I  ought  to  be  going,  but  I  did  n't  want  to  go.  I 
had  n't  really  done  justice  to  Eustace.  I  awaited  my 
chance  and  deftly  drew  the  conversation  back  —  not  to 
him  specifically,  but  to  men  in  general. 

We  are  a  poor  lot,"  I  declared,  lumping  all  of  us  to- 
gether, "and  under  our  visible  obsessions  we  descend 
to  the  bottomless  pit.  Wisdom  is  fled  to  brutish  beasts, 
and  divine  justice  inhabits  only  the  hearts  of  women, 
where  it  is  locked  up." 

''W^hat  do  you  mean  by  that,  Mr.  Brabazon  ?"  asked 
Perdita. 

It  did  sound  ambiguous,  but  I  explained  as  well 
as  I  could,  enlarging  on  the  justice  and  generosity 
of  her  sex.  She  listened  quietly,  and  then  a  sweet 
little  smile  spread  infectiously  over  her  face,  signal- 
ling dimples. 

"Oh,  what  a  humbug  you  are  !"  she  said. 

"Oh,  but,  Perdita,  Mr.  Brabazon  means  —  "  The 
dear  lady  got  no  farther. 

"Mr.  Brabazon  can  say  what  he  means  himself, 
Isabel,"  said  she,  imperiously,  "if  he  wishes  us  to  under- 
stand what  he  means  or  if  he  means  anything,"  she 
added ;  and  then  her  eyes  met  mine. 

I  designed  to  throw  chagrin  and  reproach  into  my 
glance,  but  I  do  not  know  if  I  did.  She  suddenly  burst 
out  laughing  and  I  followed  suit.  Miss  Fuller,  after 
staring  at  both  of  us,  weakly  joined  in,  and  immediately 
afterwards  rose  and  left  the  room. 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber 


157 


"Mr.  Brabazon,  you  are  bowled  out.  You  stand  re- 
vealed in  all  your  naked  insincerity,"  said  Perdita. 

''Please  don't  judge  me  so  hardly,"  I  said,  and  in- 
deed I  did  not  want  her  to  regard  me  as  a  flippant 
person.  I  thought  of  Eustace  in  a  happy  flash,  and 
of  putting  him  right  in  her  eyes.  "I  am  serious 
enough  about  life.  I  think  it  sometimes  beautiful. 
But  it  has  its  tiresome  moments,  and  then  one  must 
pretend." 

"And  mock.^"  she  asked,  with  laughing  eyes. 

"Ye-es!"  I  said  doubtfully.  "Sometimes.  Yet 
it  is  but  the  crossing  of  a  passage  to  tragedy,  even  if 
the  tragedy  have  its  sordid  aspects.  A  man,"  said  I 
slowly,  "is  usually  a  fool  in  his  youth,  if  a  philosopher 
at  forty.  And  a  good  many  of  us  have  not  reached  that 
age  yet.  It  is  necessary  sometimes  to  hear  the  whole 
before  condemning  the  part." 

Perdita's  laughing  eyes  grew  serious  and  sympathetic, 
and  I  resolved  to  continue.  After  all,  I  was  doing  a 
kind  thing  in  mitigating  her  evident  contempt  for 
Eustace. 

"Take  the  case  of  a  man  like  this,"  I  pleaded.  "He 
has  been  brought  up  in  a  more  or  less  large  way.  Sup- 
pose, for  example,  his  father  ingrained  him  from  his 
birth  with  sporting  notions,  the  turf,  the  hunt,  the  shoot- 
ing field,  or  the  gun-club.  But  he  had  better  instincts 
at  bottom,  probably." 

"Yes,"  said  Perdita,  with  manifest  interest. 

"Consider  him  much  of  a  fool,  if  you  like,  but  a  • 
decent  fool  who  has  had  no  nursing,  a  man  of  down- 
right ineffectual  good  nature,  and  the  taste  for  popu- 
larity.   He  gives  away  with  both  hands,  and  he  can- 
not tell  his  friends  from  his  foes.    He  is  born,  in  fact.. 


158        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


to  be  preyed  upon,  unless  he  is  rescued.  And  that 
rescue  may  come  too  late." 

"How  is  it  to  come?"  asked  Perdita,  leaning  for- 
ward, her  elbow  on  her  knee,  her  chin  on  her  palm,  her 
gaze  rapt  with  interest  in  my  little  problem.  The 
beauty  of  that  long  line  sweeping  from  the  waist  out- 
wards, thus  manifest,  took  my  eye  and  arrested  me. 
I  stumbled,  picked  myself  up  and  resumed  with 
difficulty. 

"It  might  come  through  anything,"  I  said.  "An  ac- 
cident achieves  a  revolution.  Provided  the  material  is 
plastic,  Providence  employs  odd  artificers.  But  some 
are  obvious  —  a  woman,  ambition,  shock,  even  an  in- 
dependent graduation  in  life.  But  let  us  say  in  this 
case — "  I  thought  —  "partly  the  rough  usage  of  ad- 
versity, and  partly  the  dawn  of  sentiment.  Let  us 
leave  it  at  that.  Anyway,  you  see  my  point.  We  can- 
not judge  the  man  unless  we  see  his  life  whole." 

"No-o,"  she  assented;  adding,  "but  a  man  can 
make  what  he  likes  of  his  life,  if  he  be  a  man." 

O,  hard  young  heart !  And,  O,  sweet  innocence ! 
What  is  determinism  to  you  ?  Life  is  bounded  only  by 
birth  and  death  to  you,  and  betwixt  is  a  straight  and 
even  pathway  in  which  there  can  be  no  doubts.  Within 
handsome  hedges  flung  with  bryony  and  honeysuckle, 
and  in  winter  with  the  wild  thorns  of  the  bramble, 
walks  our  maiden  on  a  course  she  can  mistake  not,  to 
an  end  of  which  she  is  certain.  For  Perdita,  I  felt  the 
hedge  would  break  some  day,  so  much  shone  out  of 
her  imaginative  eyes.  And  when  it  did,  pray  God,  I 
should  be  walking  by  her  side  and  sharing  in  her  cares 
and  sorrows !  The  flush  of  her  earnest  face  went  to 
my  heart  with  a  stab  of  bitter  delight.   I  could  not  put 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber 


159 


forth  a  hand  to  pluck  her.  Her  innocence,  her  friendli- 
ness, her  pretty  distance  defied  me.  What  was  she 
saying  ? 

'*He  ought  to  be  able  to  pull  himself  together,  and 
to  start  afresh.  It  is  never  too  late,  and  there  are  always 
friends  to  help." 

O,  wise  young  judge !  Portia  looked  out  of  Perdita's 
eyes.  "There  are  friends,"  I  agreed,  "but  how  many? 
And  may  not  a  man  outwear  his  friends'  patience  ?  I 
am  speaking  of  a  silly  man,  of  a  man  you  might  wrinkle 
your  nose  at."  Had  she  not  already  wrinkled  her  pretty 
nose  at  poor  Eustace  ? 

"I  hope  I  should  not  be  so  uncharitable,"  she  has- 
tened to  say.    "Certainly  not,  if  I  knew  all  the  facts." 

"This  man  we  will  conceive  in  great  financial  straits," 
I  said,  "to  have  plunged  recklessly  and  lost,  and  to  be 
beset  by  creditors  and  reduced  to  a  pitiful  case.  He  is 
obliged  ingloriously  to  avoid  his  fpUow  men,  to  run  in 
shame  around  comers,  and  to  dodge  pieces  of  blue 
paper." 

I  was  conscious  now  that  I  was  painting  Norroy  in 
somewhat  theatrical  colors,  as  it  were  a  poster  for  the 
hoardings.  But  I  had  my  reward.  Perdita  looked  pen- 
sive and  saddened  at  the  picture.  Her  tender  heart 
was  touched.   Besides,  she  had  just  professed  charity. 

"Still,  I  should  say  to  such  a  man  'Hope  and  be 
strong,' "  she  said  in  a  voice  charged  with  feeling. 

"You  are  kind,"  I  said,  "and  I  believe  you  would 
find  excuses.    But  others  —  " 

I  happened  at  that  moment  to  glance  out  of  the  win- 
dow, and  to  my  wonder  saw  the  butcher-boy  walking 
boldly  up  the  stone  pathway  in  the  company  of  his 
master,  Horne.    I  jumped  to  my  feet  and  stared  in 


160        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


astonishment.  What  on  earth  could  bring  them  here  ? 
My  silence  and  my  abrupt  action  brought  Perdita  to 
her  feet. 

"What  is  it     she  asked  with  alarm  in  her  gaze. 

I  laughed.  I  had  gone  so  far,  and  as  Norroy  was  to 
be  my  temporary  guest,  I  should  have  to  explain  him 
somehow.  "The  blue  paper,"  I  said,  "of  which  I  have 
just  spoken,  advertises  itself  opportunely." 

She  looked  startled.  "You  mean  —  "  she  halted, 
gazed  out  at  the  men  who  had  reached  the  door  — 
"writs?"  she  asked  in  a  low  voice.   I  nodded. 

She  flew  out  into  the  passage  in  a  state  of  excitement 
which  seemed  to  me  disproportionate,  and  at  the  same 
time  I  heard  the  door  open  and  Mrs.  Lane's  voice 
raised  to  answer  a  question  from  the  visitors.  A  flying 
vision  of  white  flashed  in  at  the  door  of  the  sitting- 
room  again,  tragically  pale  of  face. 

"Please  —  oh,  it's  too  late.  You  must  be  quick," 
she  breathed. 

"What  —  "  I  began,  but  was  pushed  with  a  certain 
force  and  vehemence  towards  a  door  in  the  inner  wall. 
As  I  am  an  honest  man,  and  one  in  love,  I  will  swear 
and  vow  that  I  did  not  understand ;  that  the  manoeuvre 
was  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  I  could  not  disen- 
gage my  thoughts,  and  that  when  she  had  opened  the 
door  and  thrust  me  through  before  her,  I  was  scarcely 
aware  into  what  sort  of  room  we  had  penetrated.  I 
would  have  protested  vaguely,  not  because  I  had  any 
distaste  to  be  so  handled  by  her,  but  merely  on  the 
grounds  of  her  own  inconvenience  and  obvious  distress. 
But  I  was  allowed  no  time.  My  Perdita,  of  the  vivid 
imagination,  had  broken  bounds  forthright,  and  she 
was  as  impetuous  as  a  wild  roe. 


In  here,  in  here,  oh,  please  !  "  she  cried 

[Page  161] 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber  161 


"In  here — in  here,  oh,  please!"  she  cried,  and 
opening  something  which  I  blanldy  recognized  in  my 
bewilderment  as  a  wardrobe  she  pushed  me  in.  Next 
moment  I  was  in  darkness;  the  door  had  closed  upon 
me. 

I  had  time  now  to  reflect  upon  what  had  so  marvel- 
lously happened,  and  on  my  present  position.  You 
know  to  which  sense  are  the  most  direct  avenues.  Per- 
haps it  is  exactly  because  we  inherit  so  primitive  a 
cognition  that  it  makes  so  sharp  and  so  mysterious  an 
appeal.  The  fragrance  of  lavender  mingled  in  my 
nostrils  with  the  unnamed  and  individual  fragrance  of 
a  woman's  dresses.  Do  you  remember  how  Clara 
Vaughan  was  known  to  her  lover  by  the  incense  of  her 
hair?  I  breathed  Perdita  in  my  sweet,  close  prison, 
and  I  thrilled  with  absolute  happiness. 

But  then  returned  reason  on  the  tide  of  returning 
thought.  My  brain  could  not  but  piece  together  the 
facts  leading  up  to  my  incarceration  at  such  dear 
hands.  I  knew  it  in  a  flash.  Perdita,  dear  heart,  had 
read  me  into  the  parable  I  had  set  forth,  and  had 
rescued  me  from  the  duns ! 

Was  there  ever  such  sweet  charity  ?  Friends,  quoth 
she !  Lord,  did  friend  ever  show  herself  in  so  self- 
sacrificing  and  generous  a  light  For  me  she  had  fore- 
gone the  integrity  of  her  chamber,  and  for  me  had  she 
violated  the  sanctities  of  her  boudoir.  I  strove  to  open 
the  wardrobe,  but  it  was  not  possible  from  within,  and 
then  in  the  very  air  of  Perdita  I  pondered  happily  until 
brought  up  by  a  horrid  thought.  Did  she,  then,  regard 
me  as  the  incapable  and  reckless  fool  I  had  painted 
Norroy.  I  had  put  on  the  colors  with  a  trowel,  and  now 
my  jaw  fell  to  think  that  she  had  recognized  me  in  that 

11 


162        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


portrait.  And  yet  she  had  condescended  to  befriend 
such  a  creature. 

The  door  opened  and  I  stepped  forth..  Perdita, 
flushed  with  triumph,  stood  before  me. 

"They  —  they've  gone  away,"  she  said  eagerly. 
''They  thought  you  were  here,  but  I  made  Mrs.  Lane 
show  them  over  the  dining-room  and  the  sitting-room. 
And  they  seemed  satisfied." 

I  caught  at  her  hands  —  and  both  were  in  mine  a 
moment.  Should  I  —  dare  I  —  tell  her,  and  ruin  her 
splendid  happiness?  But  I  thought  of  my  ugly  por- 
trait, as  painted  by  me,  and  I  hardened  my  heart. 

"Nothing  sweeter  could  have  been  done  in  the  world," 
I  said  ardently.    "Nothing  more  wonderful." 

Her  color  was  fast  in  her  face,  and  for  a  moment  she 
did  not  attempt  to  withdraw  her  hands. 

"And  you  —  you  would  have  shown  so  much  charity 
and  loving-kindness  to  a  man  of  no  worth,  who  has 
ignominiously  to  dodge  his  creditors!"  I  said. 

She  did  not  seem  able  to  find  a  reply,  but  she  got  one 
of  her  hands  loose. 

"You  said  we  must  not  judge  until  we  knew  the 
whole,"  she  said  at  last. 

"I  shall  never  forget  that  you  did  it  for  me,  think- 
ing it  was  I,"  I  said,  and  in  my  feeling  I  could  have 
drawn  her  to  me. 

She  drew  back.  "You!"  she  cried.  "Then  it 
was  n't  you  !" 

I  shook  my  head.  "I  have  no  history.  I  am  not 
even  interesting  through  defects.  I  spoke  of  Mr. 
Eustace." 

Her  color  fled,  leaving  her  white  and  startled,  and 
her  hand  grew  a  little  cold  in  mine. 


In  My  Lady's  Chamber  163 

"I  have  found  out  a  good  deal  about  him/'  I  went  on 
hurriedly.  ''He  is  really  a  good  fellow,  but  has  botched 
his  aflfairs.  He  is  staying  with  me  at  the  Castle.  I 
wanted  you  to  know." 

She  withdrew  her  hand  now,  almost  mechanically. 

"I  see!"  she  said  weakly. 

"But  you  did  it  for  me,  and  I  will  never  forget  it,"  I 
cried  eagerly. 

"It  seems  to  me  the  sooner  you  forget  such  a  foolish 
mistake  the  better,"  said  Perdita,  coldly. 

I  had  offended  her  as  I  should  have  guessed  that  I 
might.  Not  the  sweet  angel  from  heaven  likes  to  see 
its  magnanimous  actions  turn  into  comedy.  Perdita 
moved  to  the  door,  and  I  followed.  My  last  glance  took 
in  the  demure  little  white  bed  and  the  dimity  curtains 
and  the  hanging  wardrobe.  Then  I  was  in  the  sitting- 
room,  once  more  the  formal  visitor,  and  as  if  the  in- 
timate hospitality  of  that  virginal  chamber  had  never 
been  extended  to  me.  I  had  upset  her  and  I  was  best 
away.  And  now  I  would  have  given  worlds  to  have 
kept  silence.  I  left  miserably,  and  I  never  remembered 
to  wonder  what  Mr.  Horne  and  the  butcher-boy  had 
w^anted  of  me. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  LEAGUER 

1WAS  surprised  when  I  reached  the  Castle,  after  an 
amiable  exchange  with  my  cockney  friend,  to  hear 
the  sound  of  a  fiddle  streaming  from  the  open  windows. 
It  ceased  as  I  got  to  the  door,  and  voices  rose  in  con- 
versation. I  entered,  and,  behold,  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Harvey  !  The  former  greeted  me  with  effusion,  but  the 
latter  merely  nodded  pleasantly  from  her  seat  where 
Norroy  was  instructing  her  how  to  put  her  fingers 
on  the  fiddle  strings.  She  made  a  picture  of  grace- 
ful awkwardness  with  her  large  cart-wheel  hat  and 
her  full  draperies.  Mrs.  Harvey  explained  that  they 
had  come  to  pay  their  dinner-call,  but  she  got  no 
assistance  from  her  daughter,  who  was  wrangling 
prettily  with  Norroy  as  to  the  exact  angle  of  her 
elbow. 

If  I  put  it  there  it  sticks  out  too  much,"  she  declared, 
as  one  resolute  on  harmonies  of  figure  as  well  as  of 
sound. 

"Just  chuck  your  shoulder  up  a  bit,"  suggested  Sir 
Gilbert,  taking  command.  "Don't  mind  your  angles; 
they  11  come  into  the  picture  somehow." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Eustace!"  said  Christobel  in  despair. 

The  name  brought  me  to.  This  was  Mr.  Eustace 
still,  and  I  had  been  upon  the  point  of  calling  him 
Norroy.   The  anxious  eyes  of  the  elder  lady  were  fixed 


The  Leaguer 


165 


on  me.  This  was  Eustace,  homeless,  impecunious,  and 
beleagured,  and  he  played  the  fiddle,  and  taught  a 
pretty  girl  to  strum  !  The  mother's  eyes  implored  me, 
as  I  construed  them.  /  was  Sir  Gilbert,  and  this  was 
an  interloper,  a  wastrel,  a  foundling,  a  waif  on  the  harsh 
seas  of  fortune.  Sir  Gilbert  adjusted  his  eye-glass  and 
deigned  to  recognize  my  presence. 

"Hulloa,  old  chap!  Where  did  you  get  to.^^  Look 
here,  I've  given  Mrs.  Harvey  and  Miss  Harvey  tea." 

"I  owe  you  many  thanks,"  I  replied,  "and  much 
envy." 

An  interrogation  from  his  pupil  drew  off  his  atten- 
tion from  me,  and  Mrs.  Harvey  seized  the  opportunity 
to  enter  into  talk.  I  could  see  she  wanted  to  know 
about  Norroy,  and  I  was  able  to  gratify  her  in  all  but  his 
name,  which  she  took  for  granted.  No,  he  had  no 
profession  as  far  as  I  knew.  I  did  n't  think  it  followed 
that  he  was  necessarily  a  wealthy  man.  Undoubtedly 
he  was  of  good  family.  And  he  was  a  most  amusing 
companion.  Mrs.  Harvey  compressed  her  lips  as  she 
regarded  her  wilful  daughter  anxiously. 

"I  don't  suppose  he'd  make  a  big  hole  in  things 
in  New  York,"  she  ventured. 

I  agreed,  adding  that  if  my  friend  ever  went  to  New 
York  he  would  expect  some  one  to  make  a  hole  for  him. 

"Our  men  don't  do  that,"  said  she,  with  some 
acerbity  of  criticism  in  her  tone.  To  her  Norroy  was  a 
hopeless  ineligible.  I  was  destined  to  receive  two  bom- 
bardments that  afternoon,  for  Miss  Christobel  assailed 
me  a  little  later,  and  upon  the  same  topic. 

"This  is  a  pretty  mystery,  Mr.  Brabazon,"  she  said. 
"When  I  last  saw  you  you  were  talking  in  the  most 
gloomy  and  most  tragic  manner  about  Mr.  Eustace. 


166        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


And  now  he 's  your  guest.  What 's  come  to  the 
universe  ?  " 

"I  discovered  my  error,  and  am  repenting  in  ashes/' 
I  said  lightly. 

She  turned  on  me  her  hazel  eyes.  Does  he  know, 
then.^"  she  asked. 

"When  I  told  him  I  had  suspected  him  of  burglary, 
he  laughed,  dropped  his  eye-glass  and  said,  'how 
ripping 

"He  would,"  she  said  laughing.  "It's  just  what  he 
would  do,"  she  cried  approbatively,  "and  I  was  right 
in  my  instinct  after  all." 

"A  woman's  instinct,"  said  I,  with  an  air  of  pro- 
fundity, "is  like  a  woman's  tongue  and  a  woman's 
face  —  it  never  lies." 

Miss  Harvey  considered  this  inanity.  "Mine  will  — 
I  mean  my  face  —  I  suppose,  when  I  get  about  fifty," 
she  said. 

"You  will  never  be  fifty,"  I  declared. 

"I  don't  know  that  I  want  to  die  young,  exactly," 
said  this  frank,  unself-conscious  girl. 

"You  will  never  die,"  I  said.  "Your  age  will  be 
immortality." 

"That's  nice  of  you,"  said  she.  "But  tell  me 
honestly  what  I  shall  be  like  at  fifty.  I  believe  you 
have  second  sight,  Mr.  Brabazon.  There's  something 
uncanny  about  you." 

I  bowed  to  the  compliment. 

"You  'II  sit  gracing  the  bottom  of  a  great  table  in  an 
ancestral  hall,"  I  rambled  on,  "and  your  children's 
children  shall  call  you  blessed,  and  — " 

"Why,  Mr.  Brabazon,  I  shall  only  be  fifty,  not  a 
hundred,"  she  protested. 


The  Leaguer 


167 


**But  if  you  marry  at  twenty,"  I  suggested. 

"I  'm  more  than  that  already,"  she  said  pensively. 
''I  'm  twenty-five." 

"Oh,  we  must  marry  you  off  at  once.  That's  terribly 
old,"  I  said  hastily.  She  was  no  longer  in  her  first 
youth'  as  the  old  novels  used  to  run.  *  She  had  passed 
her  nineteenth  year.'" 

She  laughed.  ''I'm  not  in  a  hurry,  anyway,  and 
I  don't  know  that  I  fancy  ancestral  halls  so  much," 
she  said,  with  an  unconscious  glance  round  the 
room. 

When  they  had  gone,  Sir  Gilbert  stood  looking  out  of 
the  window  in  a  brown  study.  But  all  that  his  medita- 
tions brought  was  the  colloquial  remark,  ''That 's  a 
ripping  girl !" 

I  pulled  him  away  from  the  window.  "You're 
exposing  yourself  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy,"  I  said,  "and 
after  the  episode  of  the  butcher-boy  we  can't  afford  to 
take  risks.  Please  remember  you  are  fighting  excellent 
strategists.  And  let  me  tell  you  this,  Norroy;  you've 
pulled  through  so  far  by  luck  more  than  by  manage- 
ment. You  must  regard  yourself  in  the  light  of  a  be- 
sieged town.  You  may  possibly  venture  out  for  air  and 
exercise  by  night;  but  in  the  daytime  you're  a  close 
prisoner.  I  wonder  at  your  daring  to  give  tea  to  the 
ladies." 

"Oh,  hang  it,  one  can't  shut  off  everything,"  protested 
the  prisoner. 

"I  have  been  thinking,"  I  went  on.  "Seeing  the 
lengths  these  people  are  prepared  to  go  to,  we  can't  be 
too  particular.  Your  present  room  is  by  no  means  safe. 
We  must  find  a  more  secluded  place.  Do  you  know  of 
any?" 


168        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


He  frowned  over  his  reflections.  "What  about  the 
jewel-room?"  he  said  at  last. 

"What,  the  strong-room  up-stairs  ?" 

He  nodded.  "  By  Jove,  that 's  a  thundering  good  idea. 
Jacker  can  put  a  bed  in.    Let  's  have  a  look." 

He  jumped  off  the  table  on  which  he  was  sitting  and 
went  up-stairs,  with  me  at  his  heels.  Descending  the 
length  of  the  gallery,  with  a  familiar  nod  to  Mr.  Toosey, 
who  was  still  laboring  at  his  criminal  task,  Norroy 
paused  in  front  of  the  oak  door  and  inserted  a  Yale  key 
in  the  lock.  It  opened,  and  discovered  a  small  room, 
fairly  well  lighted  by  a  slit  in  the  masonry,  and  sur- 
rounded by  empty  cabinets  and  shelves.  One  or  two 
iron  safes  were  set  in  one  corner. 

"Why,  it 's  empty,"  I  exclaimed  in  surprise. 

"Hocked!"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  sententiously.  "Most 
of  it.  Of  course  I  have  to  keep  the  jewels  that  are  heir- 
looms. Uncle  Ned  was  an  old  fathead ;  he  left  them 
by  will  to  my  wife,  confound  him." 

"That  was  pretty  of  him,"  I  said. 

"But  I  haven't  got  a  wife,"  grumbled  Sir  Gilbert, 
aggrievedly.  "There  they  are,"  he  said  in  a  melancholy 
voice,  indicating  with  the  point  of  his  toe  one  of  the  safes 
in  the  corner.    "Can't  do  anything  with  them." 

"Don't  you  think  Toosey  might  copy  them,"  I  sug- 
gested with  mild  irony. 

He  screwed  his  glass  round  on  me,  and  guffawed 
when  he  realized  my  intention.  "You  are  a  joker,"  he 
said.   "But  this  will  do,  won't  it,  Brabazon?" 

I  thought  it  would  do  very  well.  It  was  quite  private, 
was  barred  by  a  fighting  Yale  lock,  and  was  also  easily 
accessible  from  the  living-rooms.  We  agreed  that 
Jackman  should  fit  it  up  at  once  as  a  prison  cell. 


The  Leaguer 


169 


Norroy  resigned  himself  with  his  imperturbable  good 
nature  to  this  incarceration.  He  had  the  faculty  of 
making  the  best  of  things  when  once  he  was  convinced 
of  the  necessity.  He  was,  I  gathered,  difficult  to  drive, 
being  an  obstinate  and  insensate  fellow,  but  he  was 
comparatively  easy  to  persuade,  while  you  could 
cajole  him  without  any  trouble,  unless  it  was  a  matter 
of  principle  for  which  he  was  contending.  Principle, 
you  cry !  Yes,  Sir  Gilbert,  twelfth  baronet,  was  genu- 
inely inspired  by  principles,  though  I  will  admit  you 
would  hardly  have  recognized  them  as  such.  They 
were,  however,  all  his  own,  even  if  you  should  find  them 
poor  things.  If  he  wanted  his  own  way  he  was  as 
obstinate  as  a  pot-donkey,  but  you  might  persuade  him 
that  your  way  was  his,  and  he  would  follow  as  docilely 
as  the  same  animal.  I  fancy  Sir  Gilbert's  brains  were 
easily  confounded,  that  his  wits  were  without  difficulty 
scattered.  He  bore  no  grudges,  and  he  wasted  no  time 
in  repining.  Of  a  cheerful  and  optimistic  character, 
he  looked  forward  to  a  future  which  must  at  any  rate  be 
different  from  the  present.  And  as  the  present  was  bad^ 
why  it  did  not  take  Sir  Gilbert  long  to  see  that  the  future 
must  be  better.  His  logic  was  of  such  wholesome 
simplicity.  All  he  stipulated  for  was  his  liberty  at  night, 
and  that  I  thought  we  might  contrive,  particularly 
as  we  had  a  new  ally  presently,  as  you  shall  now 
hear. 

It  appears  that  Miss  Harvey  dropped  in  on  her 
friends  in  the  village  and  picked  up  a  good  deal  of  news. 
I  had  given  Perdita  my  information  under  no  pledge  of 
secrecy,  and  indeed  she  would  not  suppose  that  what  I 
had  told  her  I  designed  to  keep  from  her  friend.  But 
it  may  have  been  Miss  Fuller  who  let  out  the  news.  It 


170        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


does  not  signify.  The  only  thing  that  mattered  was  that 
Miss  Harvey  arrived  by  herself  at  the  Castle  in  a  great 
state  of  excitement,  and  bursting  with  sympathy.  She 
made  no  difficulty  about  broaching  the  subject,  which 
she  did  in  Norroy's  presence  quite  naturally;  and  he 
accepted  her  query  as  naturally.  I  think  that  these 
two  people  had  something  akin  in  the  unashamed 
honesty  which  characterized  them. 

"Yes,  it's  an  awful  bore,  is  n't  it?"  said  Sir  Gilbert, 
modestly.  "But  Brabazon's  no  end  good  about  it. 
He's  guarding  me  like  a  tiger." 

She  turned  her  fine  eyes  on  me.  "How  nice  of  him  ! 
But  tell  me ;  do  these  horrid  people  hold  many  of  your 
bills  .?^" 

"More  than  is  comfortable,"  he  said.  "They  want  to 
sell  me  up.  That's  what  they're  after.  Of  course  I 
played  the  fool,  but  then  we  all  did  it.  It 's  heredity," 
declared  Sir  Gilbert,  with  the  air  of  settling  the  difficulty 
once  and  for  all. 

"Well,  if  it  isn't  romantic!"  said  Miss  Harvey. 
^'Then  are  you  shut  up  here  to  keep  them  out 

He  nodded.    "Beastly  nuisance,  is  n't  it?" 

Miss  Harvey  mused.  "It  is  n't  good  for  the  health," 
she  said. 

"I'm  going  to  climb  out  at  nights,"  explained 
Norroy. 

"You  must  n't  let  them  get  you,"  she  adjured  eagerly. 

"Not  me  !"  said  Norroy,  valiantly. 

Miss  Harvey  rose  to  go,  and  offered  a  parting  nod  of 
encouragement  to  the  baronet. 

"Don't  you  mind  too  much,"  she  advised.  Sir 
Gilbert  admired  her  through  his  eye-glass.  "Old  Jake 
Simmons,  a  friend  of  papa's,  went  bankrupt  three  times. 


The  Leaguer  171 


and  he  came  out  on  top  in  the  end.  Ever  been  bank- 
rupt before?" 

Sir  Gilbert  shook  his  head.  "I  don't  cotton  to  the 
notion,  somehow,"  he  said.  '*The  fellows  ask  you  all 
sorts  of  rude  questions,  what?  They  want  to  know  if 
you  had  champagne  for  lunch,  and  to  whom  you  gave 
presents,  and  that  sort  of  thing." 

"Old  Jake  used  to  say  it  was  the  foundation  of  his 
fortunes,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  byway  of  stimulus.  "He 
owns  a  big  dry-goods  store  in  Chicago." 

"I've  sometimes  thought  of  starting  a  shop  myself," 
said  Sir  Gilbert,  adding  pensively;  "But  I'm  more 
fitted  for  a  book-maker,  I  suppose." 

Miss  Harvey  said  good-bye  cheerfully.  "I'll  come 
round  and  see  how  you  're  getting  on  in  the  fortress," 
she  promised.  "I 've  got  to  come  over  in  a  few  days^ 
to  see  Miss  Forrest." 

The  rustle  of  her  petticoats  was  still  in  my  ear  when 
Norroy  remarked  sadly :  "That's  a  ripping  girl,  what  ?" 

I  agreed,  wondering  at  his  doleful  visage,  and  he 
resumed  a  moment  later.  "I  wish  I  was  not  running 
under  a  false  name,  old  chap." 

"You  can  easily  alter  that,"  I  told  him.  "You  can 
retire  behind  the  curtain,  emerge  with  a  bow  and  to  a 
full  orchestral  salutation  —  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy." 

"You  see,"  he  said,  as  if  it  explained  matters,  "my 
name 's  Gilbert  Eustace  Norroy;  so  it  was  all  right." 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it,"  I  agreed.  "Moreover  the  sub- 
stitution was  for  so  excellent  a  purpose." 

"Yes,  of  course,  there's  that,"  he  said.  "But,  hang 
it,  I  don't  like  masquerading.    I  don't  do  it  for  fun.'^ 

"This  is  dead  earnest,"  I  assured  him,  "and  we  run 
risks  for  it." 


172         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


He  cheered  up.  ''Miss  Harvey  says  she 's  coming  in  a 
day  or  two.  I  wish  I  could  make  a  bit  of  money." 
He  got  up  briskly.  ''I  '11  go  and  see  how  old  Toosey 's 
getting  on,"  he  said  hopefully. 

No  event  broke  the  monotony  of  the  following  day, 
at  least  until  the  evening.  In  the  evening  I  felt  that  we 
might  almost  call  a  truce.  We  were  aware  of  the 
leaguers  about  us,  but  it  did  not  trouble  us  greatly.  We 
had  spirit  enough  to  test  it.  Norroy  sagely  affirmed 
that  writs  could  not  be  served  after  dark,  and  I  argued 
that  it  did  not  much  matter  if  they  could.  There  was  no 
danger  in  the  night  from  our  entrenched  foes.  In  fact 
I  had  the  mind  to  turn  the  tables  on  them  by  a  sally. 

We  issued  bravely  forth  from  the  Castle  walls  near 
nine  o'clock.  The  air  was  flowing  softly,  and  the  dark 
and  broken  sky-line  of  the  trees  stood  out  against  the 
lighter  clouds  in  the  west.  W^e  paced  the  lawn  for  a 
time,  enjoying  our  cigars  and  the  beautiful  evening, 
and,  in  a  way,  each  other's  company.  It  was  odd  how 
attracted  I  was  by  this  amiable  and  witless  young  man. 
Differentiated  from  me  by  gulfs,  as  I  conceived  it,  in 
intellect  and  taste  and  ethics,  he  yet  claimed  affinity 
by  a  subtle  appeal  to  some  accepted  standard.  His 
exterior  manners  were  without  finesse,  but  we  met  upon 
the  same  platform  of  behavior,  and  there  was  much 
more  than  behavior  that  drew  me  to  him  —  a  sort  of 
good-humored  individuality  which  might  be  typical  of 
a  fine  animal.  The  darkness  slowly  invested  the  lawn 
and  the  borders,  leaving  the  paths  in  a  higher  light. 
The  limes  muttered  in  the  air,  like  those  fabled 
^'gossips  of  the  prime."   Norroy  broke  silence. 

"Let's  go  down  to  the  lower  garden  and  the  copse/' 
lie  suggested. 


The  Leaguer 


ITS 


Accordingly  we  made  our  way  thither,  and  without 
interference.  Once  in  the  shelter  of  the  copse  we  felt 
safe,  and,  reaching  the  sea-wall,  leaned  over  it  and 
watched  the  darkling  sea  heaving  itself  on  the  rocks. 

"I  don't  know  but  I  could  live  here,  Brabazon,'** 
remarked  the  owner  at  last.  "It's  not  lively,  but  it's 
got  its  points.  Full  of  little  nooks,"  he  added 
sentimentally. 

I  wondered  what  must  be  the  issue  from  the  clash 
of  sentiment  with  primitive  instincts  in  that  generous 
chamber  of  his  heart.  But  he  had  room  for  both  and 
was  unconscious  of  any  incongruity.  In  a  comfortable 
reverie  he  dreamed  till  at  last  he  shook  himself  out  of 
wonderland  into  the  practical  world  again.  I  was 
watching  the  foreshore  merging  into  the  night,  and  was 
conscious,  too,  of  a  deeper  shadow  that  moved.  Yet  it 
might  be  nothing.  I  strolled  on  westward  towards  the 
ascent  in  the  grounds  where  the  cliffs  rose  sheer  from 
the  high  tides  of  the  sea.  I  had  not  visited  this  part  of 
the  gardens  before.  We  got  to  the  top,  and,  cross- 
ing the  wall,  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  and 
looked  down.  The  tide  was  high,  and  still  rolling  in 
some  fifty  feet  below  us.  The  water  drew  inshore 
with  a  low  harsh  mutter  of  sound,  till  it  reached  the 
narrowing  buttresses  of  the  rocks  immediately  below; 
then  its  voice  grew  hoilower;  a  hundred  echoes  from 
the  faces  of  the  cliff  overtook  it  and  reinforced  it;  it 
swelled  to  a  loud  sonorous  volume,  and  then  burst  with 
drums  of  thunder  in  the  invisible  caverns  beneath, 
dying  into  rumbles  and  ghosts  of  sound  and  infinite 
whisperings  in  those  secret  depths  within. 

I  returned  from  the  contemplation  of  this  incessant 
warfare,  and  laid  my  hand  on  Sir  Gilbert's  arm.  The 


174        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


man  had  no  single  defective  drop  of  blood  in  his  healthy 
animal  body.  His  feet  were  on  the  very  verge  of  the 
precipice,  and  he  dreamed  as  he  looked  down.  The 
retreating  waves  left  me  space  for  a  voice  which  was 
not  a  shout. 

"Look  to  the  left,"  I  said. 

He  turned  his  head.   "Is  he  —  what  ?" 

"I  noticed  him  down  on  the  beach  just  now/* 
I  replied. 

"Damn  !  let 's  heave  him  over,"  he  suggested. 

"Norroy,  I  may  wink  at  throwing  a  dun  out  of  my 
own  house  —  or  yours,"  I  said  with  mock  indignation, 
*'but  I  know  where  to  draw  the  line.  It 's  about  time 
we  went  back." 

He  obeyed  me,  and  we  climbed  the  wall,  the  black 
figure  offering  no  molestation. 

"Let's  try  t'other  side,"  said  Norroy.  "This  is  a 
lark." 

We  crossed  the  Castle  grounds  and  essayed  the  wall 
on  the  north  side  some  hundreds  of  yards  from  the 
gates.  Norroy  burst  out  laughing.  "Blessed  if  they 
ain't  spry,"  he  said.  "Here 's  another  beggar  already." 

I  discerned  a  figure  running  in  the  darkness.  Norroy 
drew  back.  "All  right,  I'm  not  taking  any,"  he  said. 
"Look  here,  Brabazon,"  he  said  more  earnestly  when 
he  had  got  down,  and  he  took  my  arm,  "what  the  devil 
do  they  want  ?   Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  case  like  this  ?" 

I  was  bound  to  confess  that  I  had  not,  and  I  had  no 
suggestion  to  offer  by  way  of  solution. 

"Damned  rum!"  he  muttered,  as  we  strolled  back. 

Can't  get  the  hang  of  it." 

If  we  had  only  been  furnished  with  an  answer  to  the 
riddle  we  should  have  been  more  patient.   As  it  was. 


The  Leaguer 


175 


the  situation  uninterpreted  began  to  get  on  my  nerves, 
and  on  Mr.  Toosey's.  He,  however,  seemed  to  rejoice 
in  its  mystery,  while  he  thrilled  at  its  possibilities.  He 
had  already  insisted  on  regarding  himself  as  one  of  the 
besieged,  and  was  at  the  most  elaborate  precautions  to 
avoid  notice  in  his  own  coming  and  going.  He  skulked 
in  the  shrubberies,  scared  Mrs.  Jackman  out  of  her 
wits  by  leaping  out  of  one  at  an  alarm,  and  had  many 
preposterous  plans  to  proffer  for  victualling  the  fortress. 
I  explained  that  there  was  no  fear  of  our  lacking  sup- 
plies, but  he  was  resolved  that  we  might  some  day  come 
to  a  grip  with  starvation,  and  matured  his  schemes  with 
that  end  in  view.  Above  all,  he  kept  a  wary  eye  open 
for  duns  and  strangers.  This  led  to  a  rather  unfortunate 
episode. 

The  rule  in  favor  of  admitting  visitors  to  see  the 
pictures  had  not  been  abrogated,  merely  because  it  had 
occurred  to  none  of  us  to  think  of  it.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  visitor  had  presented  himself  at  the  Castle 
since  Norroy  had  taken  up  his  quarters  there.  And, 
no  doubt,  in  my  absence,  Jackman  found  himself  in 
a  difficulty,  when  a  tourist  did  present  his  card.  He 
was  an  immaculate  gentleman  with  an  immaculate 
address,  very  stout,  and  with  a  politeness  that  was  al- 
most excessive,  and  he  waved  a  huge  Panama  hat  to 
cool  his  fevered  brow  after  the  exertion  of  getting 
up-stairs.  Jackman,  I  conclude,  had  thought  him  over 
and  admitted  him,  pending  orders;  but,  like  a  good 
and  patient  servant,  he  hung  about  in  the  proximity  of 
the  visitor  with  a  watchful  eye.  The  stout  gentleman 
inspected  the  pictures  slowly,  and  with  gravity,  and 
made  notes  in  a  book.  This  was,  apparently,  what 
arrested  the  indignant  attention  of  Mr.  Peter  Tooseyj» 


176        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

who  rose  in  his  wrath  and  followed  the  visitor.  With 
this  satellite  in  his  train  the  stout  man  toured  the  gal- 
lery with  growing  discomfort  and  growing  suspicions. 
These  culminated  when  Mr.  Toosey's  own  suspicions 
reached  their  height  at  seeing  the  long  pause  made  by 
the  stranger  before  the  door  into  the  strong-room. 
Behind  that  barrier  slumbered  or  rested  the  innocent 
master  of  the  Castle.  Mr.  Toosey's  doubts  swelled  to 
a  head.   He  advanced  with  limber  step,  brush  in  hand. 

'"If  I  were  you,  I  should  go,"  he  breathed  with  polite 
malevolence  in  the  stout  visitor's  ear.  The  stout  visitor 
(as  I  had  the  story  from  Jackman)  cast  a  glance  of 
trepidation  at  his  interlocutor,  and  his  ferocious  garb 
of  daubs. 

"If  I  were  you  I  should  go  —  hook  it  —  clear  out !" 
repeated  Mr.  Toosey,  with  a  crescendo  of  advice.  The 
stout  man  endeavored  for  awhile  to  ignore  this,  tried  to 
rivet  his  attention  on  the  portrait  by  Van  Dyck  on  the 
door,  and  to  pretend  that  there  was  no  one  else  in  the 
room,  and  managed  to  drop  his  spectacles  in  his  in- 
creasing agitation.  As  he  stooped  painfully  to  pick 
them  up,  a  low  but  savage  voice  breathed  over  his 
scanty  hair  in  accents  of  extreme  and  forbidding 
menace. 

"If  I  were  you  I  should  hook  it,  vamoose,  levant, 
skip,"  it  hissed  ferociously.  These  alternatives,  I  con- 
ceive, were  selected  by  Mr.  Toosey  with  care,  in  order 
that  one  at  least  of  them  might  carry  significance  and 
conviction  to  the  mind  of  this  obdurate  party. 

The  manoeuvre  was  wholly  successful.  With  a  cry 
of  alarm  the  corpulent  stranger  recovered  himself,  trod 
his  glasses  to  flinders  in  the  act,  and  backed  in  open 
distress  towards  the  door.    His  withdrawal  was  has- 


The  Leaguer 


177 


tened  by  threatened  approaches  of  the  supposed  lunatic 
with  the  paint  brush ;  and  when  I  arrived  on  the  scene 
he  was  well  out  into  the  drive  waddling  away  for  dear 
life.  I  pieced  together  the  fragments  of  this  tragedy 
from  the  communications  of  Jackman  and  the  hero 
himself.  It  was  then  that  the  former  got  his  orders, 
that  henceforth  no  visitors  should  be  admitted. 

Well,  at  least,  by  this  ordinance,  we  barred  out  the 
innocent  visitors. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  WINDOW  SEAT 

BUT  we  did  not  succeed  in  keeping  out  the  enemy. 
It  is  a  melancholy  confession,  and  this  chapter  is 
the  history  of  a  failure.  It  began  on  the  night  of  June 
the  tenth. 

In  the  afternoon  Miss  Harvey  came  over  in  her  car, 
according  to  her  promise,  bringing  with  her  Miss  Fuller. 
The  frank  statement  of  the  American  girl  informed  me 
simply  that  Perdita  would  not  come.  I  heard  no  reason, 
but  I  wondered  wofuUy  if  she  had  forgiven  me  yet  for 
my  stupidity.  Now  I  have  always  been  disposed  to 
think  that  I  know  a  good  deal  of  women,  and  have 
often  volunteered  with  some  success  to  interpret  them 
to  denser  males  of  my  acquaintance.  I  am  quicker 
than  most  men  at  construing  their  emotions,  and  the 
plexus  of  feelings  which  constitutes  their  personality. 
But  I  will  admit  that  Miss  Fuller's  attitude  puzzled 
me.  She  had  withdrawn  herself  from  her  friend  to 
come;  so  the  inference  was  that  she  desired  to  come. 
Yet  she  was  visibly  uncomfortable  at  the  Castle,  looked 
at  Miss  Harvey  as  if  appealing  to  her  to  go,  and  had 
"yes"  and  "no"  for  conversation  more  than  any 
healthy  handsome  young  woman  should  have.  I  think 
it  must  have  been  her  unusual  attitude  that  set  me 
"chaffing"  her.  I  played  the  fool  as  elegantly  as  I 
could  think,  dandling  carrots,  so  to  speak,  in  front  of 


The  Window  Seat  179 


her  frightened  nose.  It  was  only  when  I  sounded  the 
praises  of  Perdita  that  she  relaxed.  Her  devotion  was 
so  great  that  I  think  all  other  sentiments  were  dis- 
charged by  it.  She  spoke  enthusiastically  of  her  friend's 
attainments,  and  in  particular  of  her  painting. 

''You  came  on  a  sketching  tour.^"  I  inquired. 

"Oh  —  yes  —  of  course,"  she  darted  forth  a  little 
awkwardly,  and  eyed  me  furtively  as  if  I  were  a  dan- 
gerous animal.  I  had  never  given  her  any  cause  to 
look  on  me  thus,  from  the  first  hour  when  I  had  met 
her  without  stockings.  My  behavior  had  always  been 
correct  and  modest.  I  liked  Miss  Fuller,  and  I  did  not 
want  her  to  have  erroneous  opinions  of  me.  In  some 
way  she  had  changed  towards  me,  and  I  attributed  the 
change  to  the  incident  of  Perdita  and  the  butcher-boy. 
Yet  I  could  not  see  why  she  should  have  taken  this  un- 
expected turn.  So  leaving  Miss  Harvey  to  Norroy,  I 
lured  her  forth  into  the  garden  and  picked  some  flowers 
for  her.  It  was  evident  that  Norroy  had  an  exceeding 
interest  for  her,  which  I  put  down  to  her  new  knowledge 
of  his  story.  He  bulked  large  in  her  eyes  as  a  gay 
blade,  even  perhaps  as  a  wicked  spendthrift  and  a 
debauchee.  But  away  from  him  she  gave  me  more 
of  her  attention,  and  seemed  more  at  her  ease.  I 
reverted  to  the  light  treatment  I  had  previously  been 
using.  She  had  spoken  of  some  famous  gorge  that 
should  be  visited  —  I  think  it  was  Fingle,  and  I 
sighed. 

"Alas,"  said  I,  "I  am  on  duty.  I  can't  get  away.  I 
guard  the  portals  with  a  flaming  sword." 

"Oh,  I  have  heard  how  good  you  have  been,"  she 
gushed  forth,  suddenly,  unexpectedly.  "You  are 
standing  between  a  —  a  friend  and  —  and  trouble." 


180        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


It  sounded  nice  set  in  that  way ;  Miss  Fuller  had  the 
faculty  of  transferring  actions  to  a  lofty  plane,  a  plane 
at  any  rate  of  lofty  considerations.  I  liked  to  think  just 
then  that  I  had  been  inspired  by  fine  feelings,  and  not 
by  a  mere  sense  of  fun  and  adventure. 

"But  I  wonder,  Mr.  Brabazon,  whether  you  ought 
to  do  it,"  she  went  on.  ''I  know  it 's  difficult,  some- 
times, to  see  one's  right  way  clearly.  Of  course,"  she 
added  with  some  anxiety,  "there  is  only  one  way  of 
looking  at  the  causes  which  have  brought  these  things 
to  pass." 

Poor  Norroy  !  He  was  a  rascal,  but  then,  you  see,  he 
had  the  reward  of  his  defects,  for  he  was  interesting; 
he  had  arrested  Miss  Isabel's  wondering  eyes. 

I  demurred.  "One  never  knows  other  people's 
temptation,"  I  said,  "and  one  oughtn't  to  turn  oneself 
into  a  little  Day-of -judgment  all  to  oneself." 

"Of  course  I  don't  know  anything  about  him,"  she 
hastened  to  say.  "But  I  should  have  said  any  man 
ought  to  have  been  told  to  keep  free  from  such 
complications." 

After  all  Norroy  was  indefensible,  which  was  one  of 
the  absurd  reasons  why  I  liked  him.  I  feebly  countered, 
as  she  would  not  admit  broader  principles. 

"A  good-natured  easy-going  man  sometimes  suffers 
from  his  extreme  popularity." 

"No  man  has  a  right  to  be  popular  at  the  expense  of 
others,"  pronounced  Miss  Fuller,  hardly.  I  had  noth- 
ing to  say ;  she  glanced  at  me,  and  in  quite  a  different 
tone  added,  "You  are  probably  a  popular  man  your- 
self, Mr.  Brabazon." 

"I  am,"  I  said  promptly,  resolved  to  change  the 
current  of  our  talk. 


The  Window  Seat  181 


She  seemed  hardly  to  have  expected  this  answer,  and 
I  know  that  she  did  n't  quite  approve  of  it. 

*'Some  men,"  she  said  with  greater  reserve,  "are 
merely  popular  with  their  own  sex,  which  is  easy 
enough  to  be,  I  suppose.  Men  don't  go  deep  in  their 
judgments,"  she  averred. 

"I  am  popular  with  both  sexes,"  I  hastened  to  say* 
"I 'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  they  see  in  me." 

Miss  Fuller's  mild  face  fixed  itself  in  austere  lines. 
"I  don't  think  it 's  quite  nice  to  boast  of  it,"  she  said. 

"I  did  n't,"  I  explained.  ''On  the  contrary  I  said  I 
did  n't  know  what  they  saw  in  me." 

Miss  Fuller  seemed  to  be  at  a  loss  for  an  immediate 
answer,  and,  as  is  the  habit  of  her  sex,  she  deviated. 

"I  think  it 's  rather  out  of  the  world  here." 

**That 's  the  charm,"  I  said. 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Miss  Fuller,  dryly  for  her,  "we 
find  it  a  little  too  much  so.   We  '11  have  to  get  back." 

I  came  to  a  pause  in  my  walk.  Somehow  I  had 
never  thought  of  their  leaving. 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  you  're  going  away?"  I 
asked. 

"We  think  of  it,"  said  she,  admiring  the  laurels. 

I  shook  my  head  at  her.  "Ah,  Miss  Fuller,"  I  said, 
reproachfully,  "and  I  thought  you  were  my  friend !" 

"I  —  I  don't  understand  you,"  she  said  faintly. 

"I  think,"  said  I,  "that  unless  I  have  some  strong 
distraction  I  shall  say  something  that  no  lady  should 
hear;  so  please  let  us  go  back." 

She  turned  obediently,  and  was  much  nicer  to  me  on 
the  way. 

"Please  tell  Miss  Forrest,"  I  whispered  as  they  left, 
**that  she  has  n't  half  exhausted  the  beauties  of  the 


182        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


neighborhood.  Nor  have  I.  And  if  you  go  I  shan't 
be  able  to." 

She  laughed  agreeably  and  said  nothing;  but  I  felt 
it  was  on  Norroy  that  her  gaze  was  directed  shyly  as 
they  drove  off.   Such  is  the  privilege  of  the  wicked  ! 

He  had  apparently  enjoyed  a  wonderful  hour  with  the 
lady,  whose  sympathy  did  not  deter  her  from  extreme 
merriment.  In  fact  they  were  both  laughing  heartily 
when  we  came  in. 

''Mr.  Brabazon,"  said  she,  briskly,  "I  Ve  got  an 
idea.  Mr.  Eustace  will  regularly  pine  for  want  of  air 
shut  up  here.    Now  there 's  my  car  —  " 

"Miss  Harvey 's  been  good  enough  to  oflFer  to  take 
me  out,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  pleased  as  a  good  boy,  who 
is  asking  permission  of  his  master. 

It  seemed  feasible  and  I  gave  the  permission.  *'Did 
you  tell  her  who  you  were?"  I  asked  him  when  the 
car  was  gone. 

"No-o,"  he  replied  dubiously.  "I  did  n't  quite  know 
whether  to  do  so.   You  see,  she  might  cut  up  rough." 

"Why  so.^"  I  asked. 

"Well,  women  don't  like  being  taken  in  and  all 
that,"  he  said. 

No;  they  did  not.  I  had  an  instance  in  my  mind, 
only  too  fresh  and  vivid.  Perhaps  he  was  right.  The 
motor  was  to  call  the  following  day  and  make  a  breach 
through  the  trenches  of  the  besiegers.  Both  Miss 
Harvey  and  Sir  Gilbert  looked  forward  to  the  prospect 
with  delight.    It  was  only  I  who  had  doubts. 

But  the  whole  face  of  the  war  underwent  a  revolu- 
tion th?».t  succeeding  night  of  June  the  tenth. 

The  annoyance  of  the  death  watch  in  the  w^all  had 
irritated  me  so  much  that  I  had  for  some  time  had  the 


The  Window  Seat  183 


position  of  my  bed  changed.  Yet  when  I  went  to  sleep 
I  dreamed  of  sounds  in  my  ears,  of  a  deadly  pick  upon 
crumbling  walls,  and  of  the  secret  passage  to  the  sally- 
port filled  with  traitors.  I  woke  to  find  the  light  creeping 
in  behind  the  curtains,  and,  possessed  by  a  feeling  of 
unrest,  I  got  up  and  walked  to  the  window.  I  pulled 
aside  the  hangings  and  let  in  the  early  morning.  It  was 
three  o'clock,  and  the  gray  sepulchral  dawn  invested 
the  garden.  The  bare  beds  of  the  borders,  wan  and 
ghostly  in  that  early  hour,  turned  slowly  to  a  warmer 
lilac.  The  stillness  of  the  dead  held  the  house. 

The  creaking  of  a  board  broke  this  deathly  quiet, 
striking  on  my  ears  almost  like  a  gunshot.  Alert  and 
alarmed  and  eager  I  went  to  the  door  and  listened.  For 
one  moment  I  had  forgotten  that  Norroy  slept  up- 
stairs now,  and  was  on  the  point  of  putting  down  the 
noise  to  his  account  in  the  next  room,  when  I  remem- 
bered. 

I  pushed  open  the  door  of  his  former  chamber,  which 
was  ajar,  and  peered  in.  Nothing  was  visible,  though 
the  parted  curtains  let  in  a  flood  of  dull  light.  I  walked 
across  to  the  window,  which  was  shut ;  and  I  was  turn- 
ing away,  when  I  was  aware  that  the  air  here  was  much 
cooler.  The  next  moment  I  saw  the  explanation  and 
I  thrilled.  The  glass  of  one  pane  had  been  wholly 
removed  and  the  air  of  the  garden  flowed  through. 

I  w^as  now,  as  you  may  suppose,  wide  awake  and 
agog  with  excitement.  In  my  pajamas  I  hurried  out, 
found  Jackman's  room,  and  woke  him.  Then  I  went 
up  to  the  gallery  to  see  if  there  was  any  sign  of 
Norroy;  but  the  door  of  the  strong-room  was  fastened. 
Jackman  joining  me  presently,  we  made  an  examina- 
tion of  the  gallery  from  end  to  end,  without  result. 


184        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


But  the  Castle  was  not  small,  and  was  full  of  convenient 
holes  and  crannies  for  a  lurking  foe.  We  had  a  long 
job  before  us,  for  that  one  of  Home's  myrmidons 
had  gained  access  during  the  night,  I  had  no  doubt 
whatever. 

Broad  day  found  us  still  searching,  and  searching  in 
vain.  We  had  exhausted  the  inhabited  parts  of  the 
house,  and  attacked  now  the  east  wing  in  which  the 
chambers  were  for  the  most  part  destitute  of  furniture. 
A  few  old  tapestries  covered  the  walls  here  and  there, 
and  occasionally  we  came  upon  a  battered  chest  into 
which  we  peeped  suspiciously.  But  no  sign  of  the 
intruder  was  to  be  discovered.  We  rested  at  length, 
dusty,  hot,  tired  and,  speaking  for  myself,  cross.  Poor 
Jackman  sat  on  a  box  ^nd  wiped  a  beady  face  with  a 
dirty  duster. 

"He 's  beat  us,  sir,"  he  said  in  a  melancholy  voice. 

"Not  yet,"  I  said,  mustering  my  spirits.  "And  we 
have  the  whip  hand  in  a  way.  We  will  starve  him 
out." 

"Perhaps  he's  taken  supplies,  sir,"  suggested  Jack- 
man.  There  was  that  possibility  to  consider,  of  course; 
but  I  meant  that  the  chase  should  be  a  stem  chase, 
and,  to  vary  the  figure,  that  we  should  die  in  the  last 
drtch. 

I  knocked  up  Norroy  and  gave  him  warning  of  the 
danger. 

"By  Jove!"  he  said.  "Rum  go!"  he  added;  and 
to  that  again,  "Well,  I 'm  damned  !" 

These  ejaculations  may  have  relieved  his  feelings,  but 
they  did  not  help  us.  He  dressed  cheerfully,  with  an 
air  that  would  suggest  that  we  had  bungled  the  busi- 
ness and  that  he  would  settle  it  when  he  came  down. 


The  Window  Seat  185 


"The  beggar  must  be  hiding  somewhere/'  he  said 
illuminatingly.    "  What  about  the  passage  ? 

That  had  occurred  to  me,  although  I  did  not  see 
how  the  spy  could  be  aware  of  the  passage.    But  not 
knowing  how  the  panel  was  opened,  I  had  waited  for, 
him.     He  showed  me  the  clip  in  the  book-shelves,  f 
turned  it,  and  the  dark  hole  gaped  at  us.    I  explored  ' 
it  from  end  to  end  without  result,  and  we  retreated  to 
breakfast.    Jackman  mounted  guard  at  one  door,  and 
w^e  locked  the  other  so  as  not  to  be  taken  by  surprise. 

"They  're  going  to  run  it  out  to  the  post,  old  chap,"^ 
said  the  baronet,  eating  a  hearty  meal. 

''I'll  run  'em  out  into  the  horse-pond,"  I  said 
angrily. 

He  was  considering  deeply,  and  paid  no  heed.  "I  '11 
tell  you  what,"  he  said,  at  length,  "I  could  make  a 
bolt  for  it  in  Miss  Harvey's  car,  what  ?" 

"No,  you  won't,"  said  I,  firmly.  "You  '11  stay  here 
and  I  '11  see  you  through.  Do  you  think  I 'm  going  to 
be  done  by  a  parcel  of  bum  bailiffs?" 

"You  're  a  sportsman,  Brabazon,"  said  he,  genially. 
"I  '11  stay  as  long  as  you  '11  have  me.  You  see,"  he  said 
in  a  different  tone,  "there  are  reasons  I  don't  much 
want  to  quit." 

"You  need  n't,"  I  assured  him.  "If  you  '11  only  be 
discreet,  you  're  as  safe  here  as  in  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land !  But,  mind  you,  Norroy,  you  've  got  to  act  warily 
while  this  fox  is  in  the  house.  Jackman  and  I  will  start 
on  a  systematic  hunt  after  breakfast." 

"Look  here,  I've  got  an  idea,"  said  Sir  Gilbert, 
brightly.    "Why  not  get  in  a  dog?" 

"A  good  thought,"  I  cried.  "We  can  raise  one  ixt 
the  village,  I  dare  say." 


186        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"Let 's  ask  Jackman.  Damn  it,  if  there  was  time  I 
could  get  half  a  dozen  from  town." 

Jackman,  interrogated,  knew  of  a  man  with  a  smart 
fox  terrier,  which  breed  seemed  to  meet  with  his  mas- 
ter's approval;  and  it  was  arranged  that  we  should 
take  a  lease  of  him.  He  arrived  in  the  afternoon  with 
his  owner,  a  chubby  rustic  who  held  him  in  leash  on  a 
string,  and  adjured  him  intermittently  to  "ger-rup." 
He  was  a  gay,  vivacious  animal,  exhibited  much  interest 
in  Jackman 's  calves  and  the  coal-scuttle,  and  wagged 
an  absurd  stump  of  a  tail  as  he  observed  me  with  bright 
eyes  and  cocked  ears.  I  do  not  believe  he  had  any  idea 
for  what  purpose  he  was  brought,  or  what  were  his 
duties.  After  persuading  Norroy,  who  had  brightened 
up  sensibly  on  seeing  the  dog,  to  retire  to  his  strong- 
room, we  made  a  progress  through  the  other  chambers 
of  the  Castle,  beginning  with  the  inhabited  portion. 
The  dog  enjoyed  it  very  much  at  first,  being  evidently 
under  the  mistaken  impression  that  he  was  on  his  way 
to  a  rat  fight.  Afterwards  his  interest  perceptibly  waned, 
and  he  followed  his  master  languidly,  only  being  roused 
to  higher  spirits  again  by  an  accidental  encounter  with 
Mrs.  Jackman's  cat  on  the  stairs.  For  the  rest,  if  there 
were  any  intruders  latent  in  the  house,  it  was  no  con- 
cern of  the  terrier's.  I  lost  patience.  We  settled  down 
moodily  to  the  policy  of  starving  out  the  stranger. 

By  nightfall  we  had  no  further  news  of  him,  and  in- 
cluding Mr.  Toosey,  were  all  thoroughly  exhausted  — • 
except  Norroy,  who  remained  cheerful.  Moreover, 
the  tension  and  anxiety  had  got  on  our  nerves,  and  we 
were  ready  to  start  at  a  shadow,  or  at  the  breath  of 
the  wind.  I  went  to  bed,  wearied,  but  was  unable  to 
sleep,  and  all  night  I  intermittently  listened  for  alien 


The  Window  Seat  187 


noises.  But  the  silence  that  enwrapped  the  Castle 
was  profound. 

The  next  day  brought  no  alleviation  of  our  strain, 
and  Jackman  visibly  grew  worn  and  troubled.  I  dared 
not  venture  away  from  the  house,  for  I  feared  the  rash- 
ness of  my  guest ;  and  it  was  with  infinite  relief  that  I 
heard  Miss  Harvey's  voice  in  the  hall.  I  ran  out  to 
bless  her  and  she  almost  ran  into  my  arms. 

"Oh,  Sir  Gilbert!"  she  exclaimed  in  dismay. 

I  was  not  similarly  dismayed.  She  was  like  a  blos- 
som in  a  wilderness,  bright  and  fragrant. 

"I  feel  like  that  and  more,"  I  said.   "But  I  won't." 

"I 'm  come  for  Mr.  Eustace,"  she  panted. 

"Well,"  said  I.  "We  '11  have  to  discuss  that  point. 
But  before  we  do,  there 's  another  that  won't  wait. 
And  that 's  this  —  I 'm  not,  and  never  have  been,  and 
never  will  be  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy." 

"Oh!"  She  exhibited  some  signs  of  confusion. 
"Of  course,  I  know  —  I  did  n't  mean  to  —  " 

"Do  have  faith,"  I  pleaded.  "I 've  no  alias  and  I 'm 
no  incognito ;  I 'm  plain  Richard  Brabazon,  always  at 
your  service." 

"Oh!"  She  looked  astonished;  and  then:  "Well, 
it  does  n't  matter,  anyway,"  she  said.  "I  guess  you  're 
just  you." 

"And  that,  my  dear  lady,  is  the  most  sensible  way  to 
take  it,"  I  said  smiling.  "I  would  n't  care  if  you  were 
twenty  chorus  girls." 

"No;  you 'd  probably  like  me  all  the  better,"  said 
she,  laughing. 

"I  could  n't,"  I  said  with  a  neat  bow. 

"I  say,  Brabazon,  that  beast  of  a  fox  terrier  has 
ruined  my  —  Oh,  how  d'ye  do.  Miss  Harvey?" 


188        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Norroy's  head  had  protruded  through  the  door  half- 
way through  his  complaint,  and  his  face  broadened  in 
a  grin. 

*'Are  you  ready?"  she  asked  lightly. 

"'Eustace,  we  must  explain,"  I  said,  and  while  he 
was  getting  his  eye-glass  fixed,  I  turned  to  her.  "The 
fact  is,  Miss  Harvey,  the  enemy  has  got  through." 

"'What  do  you  mean.^^"  she  asked  startled. 

"A  man  has  gained  admission  to  the  Castle,  and  is 
hiding  somewhere.  We  're  sure  of  that,  but  we  can't 
find  him.   It 's  getting  warm." 

"All  the  more  reason  that  Mr.  Eustace  should  come 
out,"  she  declared  boldly. 

"Miss  Harvey 's  right,"  he  said. 

"Very  well,"  I  agreed,  after  a  moment's  considera- 
tion.   "Your  blood  be  on  your  own  head." 

"Oh,  I  guess  it  won't  be  our  blood  if  it  comes  to  a 
collision  with  my  chauffeur,"  said  she,  laughing.  Mrs. 
Jackman  appeared  at  this  juncture,  and  asked  if  she 
should  prepare  tea.  I  invited  Miss  Harvey's  eye,  and 
replied  in  the  aflSirmative.  It  was  decided  that  Norroy 
should  go  for  his  dangerous  drive  afterwards.  Miss 
Harvey  entered  the  morning-room,  and  took  off  her 
gloves,  and  in  order  to  square  the  party  properly,  I  sent 
for  Mr.  Peter  Toosey. 

On  the  whole  I  did  not  enjoy  that  tea-party  as  I  had 
enjoyed  its  predecessors,  but  Miss  Harvey  and  Norroy 
did  not  seem  in  the  same  case.  Mr.  Toosey,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  as  nervous  as  a  cat.  He  listened  at  the 
doors,  and  seemed  determined  to  find  some  one.  Every 
entrance  of  Jackman  startled  him  to  his  feet  with  a 
protecting  eye  on  Sir  Gilbert,  who  was  all  unconscious 
of  this  watchfulness  and  of  these  alarms,  and  was  main- 


The  Window  Seat 


189 


taming  what  he  thought  a  conversation  with  Miss 
Harvey.  The  morning-room,  as  I  have  explained,  lay 
to  the  front  of  the  Castle,  and  had  doors  upon  either 
side  communicating  with  different  parts  of  the  house. 
A  third  door  opened  widely  on  the  lawn,  and  upon  each 
side  of  it  were  long  low  embrasured  windows,  to  which 
a  dado  of  oak  extended,  and  which  was  furnished  with 
old  oak  window-seats  of  a  capacious  interior.  In  one 
of  these  retreats  Norroy  talked  with  Miss  Harvey.  For 
the  reputed  owner  of  the  Castle  I  was  being  uncon- 
scionably neglected,  and  I  was  forced  more  or  less  back 
on  the  attentions  of  Mr.  Toosey,  who,  as  I  say,  was  dis- 
tracted by  his  recurrent  suspicions.  Suddenly  he  an- 
nounced, after  an  excursion  to  one  of  the  doors,  that  it 
was  locked.  His  voice  was  significant  and  tragic,  and 
the  strangeness  of  his  announcement  took  me  at  once 
to  his  side.  Miss  Harvey  had  heard,  but  not  her  com- 
panion. She  looked  across  in  wonder,  while  I  tried  the 
door. 

In  the  middle  of  this  scene  the  door  on  the  further 
side  opened,  and  a  tall  thin  man  of  fifty  appeared.  With 
the  leap  of  a  jaguar  Mr.  Toosey  was  at  the  other  end 
of  the  room. 

''Quick,  quick  !"  he  cried,  and  in  his  excitement  tore 
open  one  of  the  window-seats.  "In  here!  In  here!'' 
he  said  hoarsely. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  taking  the  alarm,  and 
in  much  less  time  than  I  take  to  relate  the  incident  Sir 
Gilbert  was  bundled  inside  the  seat  and  the  lid  clapped 
down  on  him.  I  think  he  yielded  entirely  to  the  girl's 
persuasion,  for  he  was  not  wont  to  be  bustled  or  to  give 
way  without  explanations.  But  Miss  Harvey  had  been 
fired  with  the  trepidation  of  the  artist,  and  now  sat  on 


190        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


the  closed  lid  breathlessly,  defiantly,  and  stared  furi- 
ously at  the  admitted  stranger. 

I  say  admitted,  because  it  was  manifest  next  moment 
that  Mrs.  Jackman  had  admitted  him  in  the  ordinary 
way.  Jackman,  of  course,  would  never  have  been 
guilty  of  such  a  solecism  as  to  introduce  a  visitor  un- 
announced; but  I  remembered  that  he  had  been  sent 
out  on  an  errand,  and  Mrs.  Jackman  was  only  a  good 
cook. 

''Who  are  you?"  thundered  Mr.  Toosey  with  an 
accusing  finger  at  the  intruder. 

He  gazed,  blinked  through  glasses  out  of  weak  eyes, 
and  began  to  stammer.  It  was  just  as  I  discovered 
that  the  door  I  was  trying  was  not  locked,  but  only 
jammed. 

''Mr.  —  Mr.  —  I 'm  the  tuner,"  said  the  thin  man, 
shamefacedly. 

Mr.  Toosey  was  abashed,  and  ere  any  one  could 
speak,  Mrs.  Jackman  came  forward  much  flurried. 
*'If  you  please,  sir,"  she  said,  "it's  Mr.  Sparks,  the 
tuner.  He  always  comes  every  quarter  and  I  did  n't 
know  any  one  was  in  this  room  —  I 'm  sure  I  beg 
pardon,  sir." 

Miss  Harvey  burst  into  a  merry  laugh,  and  at  the 
same  time  fell  suddenly  back  in  the  seat,  with  her  feet  in 
the  air.  The  rumblings  of  an  earthquake  convulsed 
the  oak  beneath  her.  I  sprang  to  her  assistance,  just 
in  time  to  be  greeted  by  the  face  of  Norroy  protruding 
through  the  gap,  red,  dirty,  and  disconcerted,  but  still 
immaculately  fitted  with  his  eye-glass. 

"Damn  it,  he's  got  me,  old  chap!"  he  said  in  a 
plaintive  voice. 

We  all  stared  at  his  amazing  statement,  including 


The  Window  Seat  191 

tKe  scared  pianoforte  tuner,  while  Sir  Gilbert  com-- 
pleted  his  extrication.  Then  he  brushed  the  dust  from 
his  coat. 

''I  say,  Brabazon,  he 's  been  in  there  all  the  time. 
It 's  a  bit  thick." 

Suddenly  comprehending,  I  pounced  on  the  oak  seat, 
and  re-opened  the  fallen  flap.  In  one  corner  of  the  void 
thus  disclosed  skulked  a  mean  little  man,  all  black  with 
dust.  I  put  in  a  hand  and  hauled  him  forth,  and  a  cry 
of  dismay  arose  from  the  assembly.  Miss  Harvey's 
eyes  looked  fire  and  mustard,  and  I  really  believe  she 
would  have  fallen  on  the  wretched  creature  for  two 
hair-pins.    I  shook  him. 

''I  '11  have  the  law  on  you  for  assault,"  he  whined. 

*'Oh,  chuck  him  out,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  dismally. 
"He 's  done  us;"  and  I  saw  that  in  his  hand  he  held 
the  dreaded  writ. 

I  took  him  at  his  word.  It  was  safest  for  the  man^ 
and,  I  think,  pretty  generous  treatment  in  our  frame  of 
mind.  I  hauled  him  to  the  open  door  and  ejected  him ; 
after  which  I  don't  think  we  gave  him  a  further  thought. 
The  mischief  was  done;  our  plans  were  ruined;  and 
we  must  acknowledge  defeat. 

"Hang  it,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  dusting  himself  still. 
"Who  the  deuce  would  have  thought  the  beggar  was 
in  there  ?  Rough  luck  ! " 

Mrs.  Jackman  had  had  the  sense  to  remove  the  in- 
nocent cause  of  all  the  trouble.  Mr.  Toosey,  who  was 
quite  as  responsible  for  it,  brooded  with  clouded 
brows.   I  saw  he  was  devising  ideas  fast. 

"Damn  it,  what  luck!"  repeated  Sir  Gilbert,  and 
remembered  his  manners.  "Awfully  sorry,  Miss 
Harvey.    I  say,  did  I  upset  you  ? " 


192        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


**No-o-not  much,"  she  said  pensively,  for  she,  too, 
was  busy  with  her  thoughts. 

"Awfully  sorry.  I 'm  a  real  whale,  what?"  he  said, 
continuing  the  dusting  process  to  his  knees. 

The  fatal  writ  had  fallen  to  the  floor,  and  she  picked 
it  up.  "Why  —  what's  this?"  she  said  suddenly. 
"It's  — but  it  says  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy!" 

"That's  me!"  said  Mr.  Eustace,  sheepishly. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


ANDROMEDA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

MISS  Harvey  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  looking  at 
him;  then  "'This  seems  tangled  up  some,"  she 
said  with  a  little  laugh. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry,"  said  Norroy.  "I've  been  a 
fool  all  round  and  all  along." 

"No  one 's  in  a  particular  hurry  to  contradict,"  said 
Miss  Harvey,  but  her  face  mitigated  the  brusquerie  of 
her  words.  "You  want  some  taking  care  of,"  she  sug- 
gested. "Mr.  Brabazon  doesn't  seem  quite  happy 
with  the  job."    Her  eyes  twinkled  at  me. 

"No;  I 'm  a  sad  failure,"  said  I.  "But  after  all 
who  shoved  Sir  Gilbert  in.^" 

"Oh,  we're  all  in  it,"  she  said.  "Don't  let  us  re- 
criminate." She  looked  at  me.  "What  is  to  be 
done.^"  she  asked  with  an  anxious  frown. 

The  situation  was  undoubtedly  comic  in  some  aspects, 
and  if  I  had  not  been  really  chagrined  I  should  have 
laughed.  Norroy 's  difficulties  seemed  to  have  settled 
themselves  by  their  own  dead  weight ;  he  was,  I  thought, 
fading  sensibly  out  of  my  purview. 

"If  I  might  suggest,"  said  he  at  this  juncture,  "I 
should  very  much  like  that  drive  you  spoke  of."  He 
was  far  less  perturbed  than  we  were,  now  that  he  had 
removed  all  the  dust  from  his  coat  and  trousers. 

"Certainly,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  and  her  voice  trilled 
out  in  sudden  merriment.    "It's  so  awfully  like  a 

13 


194        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


game  we 've  been  playing  and  have  got  tired  of/'  she 
said. 

"I 'm  pretty  sick  of  it,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  good- 
humoredly. 

"Won't  you  come,  Mr.  Brabazon.^"  called  the  girl 
in  her  sweetest  voice.  "I  must  get  out  of  the  way  of 
thinking  of  you  as  Sir  Gilbert." 

"Why,  did  you  think  — .?^"  The  real  Sir  Gilbert 
searched  our  faces  critically,  as  if  he  suspected  us  of 
some  duplicity. 

"I  have  had  the  honor  to  run  as  your  understudy," 
I  said  to  him. 

"Oh  !"  he  grimaced.    "Wish  you  joy  !" 

"I  was  told,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  slyly,  "that  Sir 
Gilbert  was  in  the  neighborhood  incog." 

" Oh,  Mrs.  Jacker  ! "  said  he,  with  a  nod.  "I  thought 
as  much.  She  has  a  wagging  tongue.  Good  Lord, 
Brabazon,  do  all  the  folk  here  take  you  for  me  Great 
Scott,  what  a  lark  !" 

"I  fail  to  see  the  humor  of  it,"  I  answered  with 
dignity. 

"Don't  be  ratty,  man,"  he  adjured.  "Hiding  in  my 
own  castle  under  another  name !  Not  a  bad  idea,"  he 
exclaimed,  suddenly  stmck  by  the  brightness  of  it. 
"No  one  would  have  suspected  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
Mrs.  Jacker.   Damn  !  I  wish  I 'd  thought  of  it." 

We  motored  to  the  village,  where  Miss  Harvey  had 
to  communicate  our  news  to  her  friends.  We  all  de- 
scended at  Mrs.  Lane's  and  went  in  after  her,  myself, 
I  will  confess,  with  some  misgivings.  Sir  Gilbert  took 
it  easily,  without  showing  consciousness  of  being  either 
hero  or  scapegrace.  It  seemed  that  he  was  not  con- 
cerned as  to  the  opinion  of  either  Miss  Forrest  or  Miss 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  195 


Fuller.  Miss  Harvey  broke  out  with  the  facts,  and 
Sir  Gilbert  stood  modestly  by.  Miss  Fuller  could  not 
keep  sympathy  out  of  her  honest  gaze,  but  I  could  not 
read  Perdita's  eyes. 

"It  is  very  awkward  for  —  for  Mr.  Eustace,"  she 
said. 

"For  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy,  my  dear,  for  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy,"  said  Christobel,  triumphantly. 

The  faces  of  the  two  girls  were  mildly  blank  and 
civil,  and  Miss  Harvey  explained  swiftly. 

"Then  Sir  Gilbert  has  been  masquerading,"  was  Per- 
dita's cold  comment. 

"Playing  the  goat ! "  agreed  that  gentleman,  amiably, 
"and  now  he 's  got  to  pay  the  piper." 

I  do  not  know  what  made  me  say  it;  and  I  really 
don't  think  it  was  malice.    But  I  did  say  it. 

"Oh,  you  '11  have  to  marry  Miss  Rivers,"  I  said 
lightly. 

"Miss  Rivers !"  said  Miss  Harvey,  turning  abruptly 
to  me. 

I  was  aware  of  my  folly  at  once.  "Miss  Rivers  of  the 
north,"  I  explained  weakly,  though  it  was  no  ex- 
planation. 

"Not  me,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  stoutly;  and  after  a 
pensive  moment,  added :  "But  perhaps  she 'd  lend  me 
a  bit.   I 've  a  good  mind  to  write  to  her." 

"I've  no  doubt  she  would  be  anxious  to  do  it  on 
such  excellent  security,"  remarked  Miss  Fuller,  with 
what  seemed  to  me  uncharacteristic  irony. 

"Is  this  lady  —  whatever  her  name  is  —  wealthy.^'* 
inquired  Miss  Harvey. 

"Heaps  of  tin,  I  believe,  —  manufacturers,  you 
know,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  and  with  a  total  disregard  for 


196        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


others'  interest  in  a  question,  which  was  one  of  his 
qualities,  he  barred  the  topic  with  his  stubborn  insen- 
sitiveness.    "I  say,  had  n't  we  better  be  off?" 

I  had  to  drive  off  with  them,  much  against  my  wUl, 
and  later,  while  Norroy  was  despatched  on  some  pur- 
poseless errand  by  the  lady,  I  had  the  privilege  of  being 
cross-questioned  by  her.  She  wanted  to  know  who 
Miss  Rivers  might  be.  I  told  her  that  my  own  knowl- 
edge was  limited,  but  I  understood  she  was  cousin  to 
Sir  Gilbert.  "Daughter  of  the  late  Mr.  Rivers  of 
Rivers  and  Poulter,  iron  founders,"  I  added. 

"Oh  !"  said  she,  dubiously,  and  then,  "Why  did  you 
say  he  ought  to  marry  her.^"  she  asked  ruthlessly. 

"A  feeble  jest,"  I  replied,  "merely  arising  from  the 
fact  that  such  a  match  w^as  once  planned  by  their 
forbears." 

"Cradle  matches,"  said  Miss  Harvey,  sententiously, 
"are  the  most  disgraceful  offences  against  real  civili- 
zation." 

"They  are  the  rotten  fruit  of  an  effete  world,"  I 
agreed. 

"I  am  surprised  such  a  thing  should  be  proposed  in 
England,"  she  went  on  slowly. 

"Comparatively  enlightened  as  she  is,"  I  added  for 
her.  "So  am  I.  But  Sir  Gilbert  takes  a  healthy  view 
of  it.  He  won't  be  bought  and  sold  for  any  one's 
money.  And  no  doubt,"  I  added  sarcastically,  "he  has 
an  essentially  aristocratic  contempt  for  mere  wealth." 

She  was  silent,  contemplating  the  view,  but  recurred 
to  the  subject  presently,  when  I  was  thinking  of  some- 
thing else.  ^ 

"Do  you  think  he  ought  to  borrow  money  from  her 
in  the  circumstances?" 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  197 


"I  think  it 's  risky  for  her,"  I  said. 

"I  didn't  mean  that,"  she  said  impatiently,  and 
then  added  crossly,  "Men  are  so  stupid." 

I  know  they  are;  but  I  was  glad  to  see  Norroy 
stalking  back  through  the  bushes. 

We  had  run  over  to  Dartmoor,  and  it  was  not  the  last 
journey  which  Sir  Gilbert  was  destined  to  make  to  that 
wilderness  in  that  company.  For  the  next  day  Miss 
Harvey  and  her  mother  called  at  the  Castle  with 
cordial  invitation  that  we  should  visit  them  at  their 
hotel  on  the  moor.  I  was  not  anxious  to  go,  and  made 
a  mountain  out  of  my  neglected  work.  Alas,  I  had 
written  but  two  pages  since  my  inauguration  in  the 
Castle;  and  I  had  confidently  expected  so  much  from 
this  quiet  holiday  in  the  west !  Immediately  afterwards, 
when  I  had  definitely  committed  myself  to  my  state- 
ment, I  repented,  for  I  learned  by  a  casual  remark  that 
Miss  Fuller  and  Perdita  were  to  be  invited.  And  so, 
when  they  drove  off,  I  fell  a  prey  to  gloom  and  morosity, 
and  I  snapped  Mr.  Toosey's  head  off.  To  do  him 
justice  he  did  not  much  mind,  being  by  now  accustomed 
to  my  ways,  but  he  watched  me  sadly  from  time  to  time 
as  he  painted.  My  conduct  was  the  more  unreasonable 
that  I  had  voluntarily  sought  his  company  to  console 
me.  So,  cross  with  myself,  I  wandered  about  the  gal- 
lery, picking  out  books  at  random  and  examining  them 
without  interest.  The  day  was  a  most  perfect  day  in 
June,  and  the  sun  was  bright  overhead,  its  splendor 
tempered  by  a  cool  sea-breeze.  I  had  gone  down  the 
length  of  the  western  wall,  and  reached  the  book-cases 
protruding  into  the  room  at  the  bottom,  when  I  thought 
of  the  secret  panel,  and  turned  to  it  idly.  I  pressed  the 
clip  and  opened  it,  stared  in,  and  shut  it  again.    As  I 


198        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


did  so  my  eyes  lighted  on  the  genuine  shelf  immediately 
overhead.  It  contained  a  number  of  volumes  of  the 
Annual  Register,  but  one  was  a  stranger  to  the  series,  a 
"rogue,"  to  use  the  gardener's  parlance.  This  was  the 
sole  reason  which  induced  me  to  take  it  down. 

It  was  a  copy  of  Bacon's  "  Novum  Organum  "  dated 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  I  turned  the  leaves  quite 
mechanically,  before  slapping  it  up  again.  But  in  that 
running  flux  of  the  pages  my  eye  was  caught  by  a 
diagram  on  the  fly-leaf,  and  I  went  back  to  it.  It  was 
figured  thus: 


3X3 


20  Staires 


R.  Wall. 


I  studied  it  with  the  vague  impression  that  it  had 
reference  to  something  within  the  covers  of  the  Great 
Philosopher.  Then  I  deciphered  in  smaller  letters 
below  —  Jasper  N.  What  was  there  familiar  in  the 
appearance  of  that  ? 

Taking  the  book  with  me  I  went  back  to  Toosey, 
and,  having  shed  my  ill  humor,  complimented  him 
on  the  work  which  he  was  doing.   He  was  pleased. 

"The  style  is  a  little  troublesome,"  he  said,  "but 
I 've  got  the  hang  of  it  at  last." 

I  wondered  if  he  suspected  on  what  a  nefarious  task 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  199 


he  was  engaged,  and  I  smiled.  "I  shall  have  some 
difficulty  with  that  one  farther  on/'  he  said  with  a  nod 
at  it. 

I  went  up  to  the  wall  and  languidly  examined  the 
landscape  he  had  indicated,  and  then  my  glance  passed 
to  the  next  picture,  which  was  a  portrait. 

''Oh,  that's  Sir  Jasper,  and  a  thundering  good  one, 
too,  but  I  don't  do  that,"  he  said,  seeing  the  direction  of 
my  gaze. 

Sir  Jasper !  By  sheer  coincidence  the  name  had 
fallen  within  my  notice  twice  in  five  minutes.  I  opened 
the  fly-leaf  of  my  book.  Undoubtedly  this  was  the  hand 
of  Sir  Jasper  Norroy.  I  looked  again  at  the  portrait, 
which  portrayed  a  bluff,  low-lidded,  insolent  devil  of  a 
man.  What  in  the  name  of  conscience  did  he  with 
annotations  of  Bacon  ?  20  Staires,  I  read.  I  left 
Toosey  and  sped  swiftly  down  the  gallery  till  I  reached 
the  panel,  pressed  the  clip,  and  entered  the  aperture. 
Striking  a  match  I  descended  the  stone  stairs,  counting 
carefully,  and  my  matc^h  went  out  when  I  reached  the 
fifteenth.  I  lit  another  and  completed  the  twenty. 
Then  I  looked  about  me.  The  passage  was  narrow 
within  the  limits  of  the  outer  wall,  being  no  more  than 
three  feet  across,  and  was  built  in  with  brickwork. 
Below  me,  as  I  could  discern  by  the  flare  of  the  match, 
it  dipped  a  dozen  feet  or  more  farther.  I  continued  to 
the  end,  and  found  the  door  of  the  sally-port,  which  I 
succeeded  in  getting  open.  The  broad  expanse  of 
daylight  greeted  me,  and  I  could  see  that  the  passage 
ended  thus  in  a  little  shrubbery  of  laurels  against  the 
western  wall.  I  closed  the  door  and  retraced  my  steps, 
and  once  more  made  a  survey  from  the  twentieth  stair. 
There  was  no  indication  of  any  difference  in  the  nature 


200         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


of  the  wall,  and,  though  I  tried  it  as  high  as  I  could 
reach  on  both  sides,  I  discovered  nothing.  Then  it 
occurred  to  me  that  I  should  count  from  the  bottom, 
and  doT\ni  I  went  to  the  sally-port  and  did  so.  But 
still  no  '*find"  rewarded  my  efforts.  I  emerged  from 
the  passage,  dusty  and  hot,  shut  the  panel,  and  went 
down  to  my  room,  taking  the  book. 

I  had  fully  made  up  my  mind  that  there  was  some 
secret  here,  but  how  to  unearth  it.^^  I  pored  over  the 
cypher  with  its  nest  of  rectangles,  seeking  for  some 
clue;  and  then,  resolving  to  return  to  it  again,  I  put  it 
aside  and  went  out.  The  lovely  afternoon  made  its  call 
on  me. 

I  roamed  tlirough  the  gardens  and  made  my  exit 
through  the  wicket  gate  in  the  sea-wall.  The  sea  was 
bright  and  dancing,  flecked  by  heads  of  foam  so  far  as 
the  eye  could  carry.  The  foreshore  lay  wet  with  the 
recent  tide,  which  was  moving  out,  and  long  trails  of 
seaweed  littered  the  rocks.  I  walked  along  the  shingle, 
receiving  the  buffets  of  the  brave  wind  with  exhilara- 
tion, and,  turning  a  corner,  saw  the  cliffs  on  which 
Norroy  and  I  had  stood  a  night  or  two  before.  The 
cavern  yaT^Tied  to  the  vacant  air.  I  went  towards  it. 
The  tide  was  some  distance  out,  raking  on  the  sands, 
and  the  scene  was  very  different  from  that  on  the 
occiision  of  my  previous  visit.  Then  it  had  been 
forbidding,  lowering,  ominous;  to-day  in  the  fine  ^ 
sunshine  with  the  receded  tide  it  had  a  holiday  aspect. 
It  did  not  seem  as  if  the  crisp  bright  sand  could  ever 
have  been  the  cockpit  of  warring  waters.  And  yet, 
looked  at  carefully,  the  cliff  face  held  a  certain  menace, 
treacherously  disguised.  The  chasm  in  it  opened  wide 
with  interior  and  unfathomed  blackness,  as  it  might  be 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  201 


an  ugly  creature  of  prey,  a  dragon  with  its  coils  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  that  yawned  and  slept  in  the  sun 
after  its  appetite  was  appeased.  In  the  outer  shell  of 
the  cavern  was  only  a  whisper  of  the  approaching  sea ; 
otherwise  it  was  still  and  sombre  and  cold  like  death. 
It  slept,  but  it  would  awake,  awake  to  the  champing  of 
the  foam  about  its  ragged  teeth,  to  the  roaring  of  the 
flood-tide,  to  the  gurgitation  of  that  relentless  maelstrom 
of  waters  in  the  narrow  channel. 

I  was  conscious  of  these  possibilities  in  the  monster 
while  it  basked  in  the  sun,  and  then,  under  the  influence 
of  the  usual  human  curiosity,  I  penetrated  the  inner 
cavity.  I  was  here  in  a  sort  of  twilight,  and  now  the 
sounds  of  the  outside  world  were  dwindled  to  a  mere 
murmur ;  the  dank  walls  struck  colder,  and  the  seaweed 
and  sea-moss  on  the  rocks  sent  a  chill  into  the  blood 
when  touched  by  the  hand.  I  went  farther  in,  and  now 
all  sounds  ceased,  and  I  stood  in  a  world  of  silence,  in  the 
darkness  and  stillness  of  a  world  unheated  and  un- 
lighted  by  any  sun,  as  it  might  be  in  a  world  in  its  last 
stages  of  decay.  I  was  glad  to  retreat  to  the  sands 
before  the  cliffs,  and,  directly  I  emerged,  my  eye  was 
caught  by  a  figure  between  me  and  the  advancing  sea. 
I  had  turned  from  the  dragon ;  here  was  my  Andromeda. 
Blessing  the  good  fortune  which  had  brought  about  this 
conjunction  I  hastened  towards  her.  She  stooped  as  I 
came,  took  a  stone  from  the  beach,  and,  with  a  girlish 
hook  of  her  arm,  sent  it  spinning  into  the  waves.  I 
called  to  her,  and,  with  one  hand  raised  to  retain  her 
errant  hat  from  the  breeze  she  turned  about,  her  vivid 
face  rosy  from  her  exercise,  her  gown  snapping  in  the 
wind  against  her  lissom  body. 

"So  you  did  n't  go  ?"  I  asked,  as  I  reached  her. 


202        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"You  mean  to  Dartmoor  ?  No,  Isabel  went.  It 's  a 
day  for  the  sea,  don't  you  think?"  she  added  after  a 
pause. 

Since  I  had  encountered  her  there,  of  course  it  was. 
The  breeze  played  in  the  surfaces  of  our  garments  and 
carried  our  voices  to  a  higher  pitch.  It  was  full  of  a  salt 
savor  and  stung  pleasantly.  Screaming  gulls  wheeled 
in  front  of  us,  and  dipped  to  the  glistening  water. 

"And  so  you  took  me  for  Sir  Gilbert!"  I  said 
abruptly. 

She  smiled  a  little.  "We  all  did,"  she  said,  facing 
the  freshening  breeze. 

I  watched  the  hair  ruflBing  under  the  wind  that 
caressed  it.  "Well,  altogether,  we've  had  a  regular 
comedy  of  errors,"  I  said.  She  shot  a  glance  at  me. 
"I  took  Sir  Gilbert  for  a  rogue,  and  you  took  me  for 
him." 

"And  you  took  me  for  a  burglar,"  she  said  lightly. 

"In  my  heart  and  on  my  soul,  not  really,"  I  pleaded. 

"Oh,  that  makes  it  less  complete,  —  and  less  in- 
teresting," she  added. 

"We  could  n't  very  well  add  any  more  complications 
to  it,"  I  said. 

She  w^as  silent,  and  then  ventured,  "unless  Miss 
Harvey  turned  out  a  princess  in  her  own  right." 

"As  for  that,"  I  said,  "she  is  that  already.  Don't 
you  know  Rule  No.  42x\  —  All  American  women  are 
princesses  in  their  own  right." 

She  laughed  at  my  small  joke  and  looked  around  at 
the  cliff. 

"Is  that  your  —  Sir  Gilbert's  property.^" 
"I  have  my  doubts.    It  depends  how  far  the  cave 
runs.    The  foreshore,  I  suppose,  belongs  to  him,  but 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  203 


the  tide  marches  into  that  open  mouth  every  twelve 
hours.  Yet  I  should  say  he  had  certain  proprietary 
rights  in  the  cavern.  I've  been  exploring  it.  Shall  we 
inspect  it 

She  moved  off  with  me  in  silent  assent,  and  when  we 
had  got  half  way  to  the  cliff  turned  as  if  reluctant  to 
abandon  her  view  of  the  sea. 

"  *  With  chafe  and  change  of  surges  chiming, 
The  dashing  channels  rocked  and  rang. 
Large  music,  wave  to  wild  wave  timing, 
And  all  the  choral  water  sang.'  " 

I  quoted  one  of  those  magnificent  stanzas,  and  her 
lips  parted  slightly  as  she  drank  in  the  music  with  the 
sea  soimds  and  the  sea  air. 

"  Go  on,"  she  said,  when  I  had  finished. 

"It  is  a  night  scene,"  I  said.  "If  I  were  with  you 
here  by  night  it  would  be  appropriate.  But  no,"  I 
added,  remembering  the  burden  of  the  poem,  which 
was  that  of  satiate  love,  "  it  would  be  most  inappropriate. 
I  should  never  walk  with  you  in  such  a  setting." 

"I  don't  think  I  know  the  poem,"  she  said  innocently. 
"But  it's  beautiful." 

I  had  risked  her  knowledge,  and  now  I  hardly  cared 
if  she  should  track  it  down,  and  with  it  my  sentiments. 

"It  is  by  the  greatest  singer  of  the  sea  that  has  ever 
lived,"  I  said.    "It  is  Swinburne's." 

"Tell  me  more  of  it  ?  "  she  asked. 

The  sense  of  the  words  collected  in  my  memory  and 
shamed  me.  Never  would  I  apply  to  her  those  vivid, 
languid,  and  hectic  verses.  But  the  beauty  of  them 
caught  me  up.  "This  is  not  you  and  I,"  I  said.  "This 
is  some  less  fortunate  couple  at  the  end  of  their  ideals. 
I  believe  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  them  stUl. 


204         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"  '  The  rustling  sand  and  shingle  shaken 

With  hght  sweet  touches  and  small  sound  — 
These  could  not  move  us,  could  not  waken 
Hearts  to  look  forth,  eyes  to  look  round. 

"  *  Silent  we  went  an  hour  together. 

Under  grey  skies  by  waters  white, 
Our  hearts  were  full  of  windy  weather, 

Clouds  and  blown  stars  and  broken  light.' " 

She  said  nothing,  but  turned  and  resumed  her  walk 
to  the  cliff,  and  I  with  her  silent.   ''Silent  we  went  — 
Was  it  ominous  ?   The  sun  merged  suddenly  in  a  pass- 
ing cloud,  and  the  cliff  stood  starkly  in  shadow  —  with 
its  dark  cavernous  mouth. 

''Is  it  far  in?"  asked  Perdita,  surveying  the  interior 
gloom  doubtfully. 

"We  can  go  just  as  far  as  you  like,"  I  said. 

We  entered  and  penetrated  the  second  cavern.  "To 
go  deeper  we  should  want  lights,"  I  said.  "But  I 
should  say  it  continued  for  some  distance.  This  coast 
was  a  favorite  resort  of  smugglers  in  the  old  days,  and 
no  doubt  these  caves  were  used  by  them  for  their  illicit 
trade.  It  is  more  than  hinted  that  Sir  Gilbert's  ancestors 
had  a  finger  in  the  pie." 

We  lingered  a  little  longer,  and  then  withdrew  into 
the  larger  and  outer  cavern  which  was  comparatively 
full  of  light. 

"Do  you  think  people  the  happier  for  having  ideals  ?" 
asked  Perdita,  abruptly.  "Ideals  that  can  be  broken 
and  so  create  in  the  heart  a  greater  ruin  than  would 
otherwise  have  existed?" 

"Oh,  undoubtedly.  I  mustn't  quote  you  the  old 
Tennysonian  tag  as  to  loving  and  losing.  But,  look  at 
it  how  you  will,  the  argument  is  in  favor  of  ideals.  On 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  205 


the  low  plane  of  practical  happiness  you  have  what 
holds  you  up  for  years,  until,  indeed,  that  blow  you 
dread;  and  at  the  highest,  'one  needs  must  love  the 
highest'  —  there  is  no  alternative.  It  comes  to  this, 
that  you  can't  help  having  ideals,  and  that  you  are  the 
happier  for  any  ideal  you  have,  even  if  it  be  destined  to 
be  broken." 

"Yes,  you  must  be  right,"  she  said  with  a  sigh.  "But 
it's  hard  to  puzzle  out." 

Idealism  is  a  fascinating  subject,  and  it  has  even 
more  fascinating  affinities,  into  which  one  is  tempted 
to  slide  in  conversation.  After  all  there  is  no  idealism 
so  great,  so  absorbing  and  so  unselfish  as  Love.  Beside 
it  religious  devotion  is  but  a  thin-blooded  passion, 
lacking  the  touch  of  earth  which  keeps  it  in  relation 
with  human  things.  I  could  have  drifted  into  that 
supreme  idealism,  but  for  Perdita.  She  evaded  the 
topic,  seemed  not  to  notice  when  I  slipped  and  fell, 
waited  demurely  till  I  had  recovered  and  joined  her, 
when  she  talked  on  prettily  again.  So  I  was  kept  hang- 
ing on  the  fringe  of  a  mighty  matter,  and  sad  and 
happy  together.  And  at  last  Perdita  remembered  the 
time  and  the  place.  We  went  out  of  that  cavern 
which  had  been  lit  for  me  with  a  radiance  of  fairyland. 

It  was  odd,  and  even  startling  to  notice  the  difference 
in  the  aspect  of  the  sea.  The  tide  had  rolled  in  patiently, 
winning  yard  after  yard  of  the  shore,  until  it  had  reached 
the  sea-line  of  rocks,  where  its  advance  became  rapid. 
It  was  as  though  the  resistance  of  the  opposing  land 
had  been  at  last  overcome  and  the  spears  of  the  tide 
were  storming  the  shore  in  a  serried  rush.  The  flood 
came  down  upon  the  cliff  and  the  caverns  like  a  race- 
horse, —  roaring,  foaming,  mouthing,  menacing.  Per- 


206        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


dita  uttered  a  little  cry  of  alarm,  and  I  put  out  a 
hand  and  drew  her  to  me. 

"There  is  plenty  of  time,"  I  said  reassuringly.  "The 
utmost  that  can  happen  is  that  we  may  get  a  little 
wetting." 

She  made  no  resistance  as  I  put  her  arm  in  mine,  but 
she  gazed  at  the  sea  fearfully  and  then  looked  away. 
I  felt  she  had  committed  herself  to  my  charge  like  a 
trusting  child.  I  picked  the  way  over  the  shrinking 
delta  of  sand  towards  the  rocks  round  which  the  tide 
was  spuming  in  its  alternations  of  sally  and  retreat. 

Just  before  we  reached  this  refuge,  a  wave,  running 
free  and  fast  above  its  fellows,  broke  with  a  crash  on  the 
shore  and  submerged  us  to  the  ankles.  I  stooped, 
lifted  Perdita  bodily  in  my  arms  and  set  her  on  the  rock, 
joining  her  a  moment  later.  The  tide  sucked  round  the 
base  of  our  resting-place,  drawing  out  with  reluctance. 
I  cast  an  eye  towards  the  rising  ground  behind  us. 
The  cliffs  here  descended  quite  low  and  were  not 
more  than  twenty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sands.  But 
the  way  to  it  was  a  mere  track  of  big  boulders.  We 
scrambled  over  them  as  best  we  might,  until  we  reached 
the  steep  face  fifteen  paces  away.  From  here  the  cliff 
swooped  outwards,  and,  where  it  descended  to  an  easy 
level,  the  tide  was  already  breaking.  The  wall  before 
us  was  not  a  very  difficult  one  for  a  man  to  scale,  but  it 
had  obvious  terrors  for  a  woman  in  skirts  and  with 
delicate  and  unaccustomed  hands.  I  made  up  my 
mmd  to  a  course  at  once. 

"We'll  get  a  bad  ducking  if  we  try  to  go  along  the 
cliff,"  I  said.  "I  want  you  to  put  yourself  in  my  hands. 
There's  absolutely  no  danger." 

For  a  moment  she  hesitated;  her  color  had  gone, 


We  scrambled  over  them  as  best  we  might,  until  we  reached  the 
steep  face  fifteen  paces  away 

[Page  m] 


Andromeda  and  the  Dragon  207 


and  she  looked  anxious.  Then  she  put  her  hand  in 
mine. 

"Yes,"  she  said  simply. 

If  nothing  else  could  do  it  that  simple  confidence 
would  have  inspired  me.  I  stooped,  made  a  back,  and 
put  my  clasped  hands  behind  me,  palms  uppermost. 
Have  you  seen  boys  help  each  other  over  a  wall  to  rob 
orchards  ?  Well,  that  was  my  primitive  plan.  Perdita 
mounted,  and  I  gripped  her  small  feet,  and  I  felt  her 
knees  in  my  back.  I  encouraged  her  and  she  scrambled 
to  my  shoulders. 

"Now  step  upon  the  ledge  just  over  me,"  I  enjoined. 
"You  will  find  a  projection  to  cling  by  above." 

Skirts  drifted  against  my  face,  the  weight  lifted  from 
my  back,  and  I  knew  she  had  done  what  I  wanted.  The 
tide  was  thundering  over  the  rocks  towards  us.  She  was 
clinging  with  both  hands  to  the  angle  I  had  mentioned, 
and  her  two  little  feet  were  firmly  set  in  the  niche  on  the 
level  of  my  neck.  Above  was  another  step,  but  she 
could  not  reach  it  in  her  retarding  skirts;  she  must 
have  an  intermediate  stage. 

"I  am  going  to  make  a  ladder  step  for  you,"  I  said, 
"and  you  can  mount  to  the  next  ledge." 

There  was  no  time  for  explanations.  What  had  to  be 
done  I  had  to  do  at  once.  I  took  hold  of  her  ankles 
fast  in  both  hands,  and  pushed  my  right  arm  upwards, 
steadying  my  body  against  the  wall. 

"Now  step  upwards,"  I  called  out,  and  I  pushed 
forward  my  left  arm. 

For  an  instant  the  whole  burden  of  her  sweet  body 
rested  on  my  wrists,  and  then  I  knew  she  had  reached 
the  second  ledge.  Good  !  I  breathed  more  freely. 
She  was  nearly  half-way.    I  mounted  to  the  ledge  she 


208        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


had  left  and  put  my  arm  round  her  waist  to  give  her 
assurance. 

"Not  afraid  ?"  I  asked  lightly. 

She  shook  her  head.  We  repeated  the  mounting 
process  by  the  ladder  of  my  hands,  and  so  both  attained 
a  wide  breach  in  the  cliff  within  reach  of  the  top,  where 
we  rested.   We  both  breathed  heavily. 

"My  dear,  how  brave!"  I  said,  touching  her  hand. 

She  said  nothing,  but  the  pallor  receded  from  her 
face,  and  a  faint  color  charged  it.  Her  eyes  were  bright 
as  if  the  tears  bedewed  them.  Was  I  a  beast  ?  But  I 
could  not  have  helped  it.  Nor  could  I  help  what  I  did. 
One  acts  sometimes  under  a  violent  reaction.  I  put  an 
arm  about  her,  drawing  her  closer. 

"You  shan't  fall,  dearest,"  I  said.    "I  will  protect 

you.;' 

Still  she  said  nothing,  nor  did  she  look  at  me.  Her 
heart  beat  quickly  under  my  hand.  Was  she  frightened  ? 
I  could  not  say.  I  experienced  the  vertigo  of  acute 
emotions,  but  I  should  not  have  fallen  had  I  been  a 
thousand  feet  above  safety.    "Come!"  said  I,  gently. 

The  rest  of  the  way  was  easy,  and  we  gained  the 
summit.  Her  hand  lay  weakly  in  mine  as  I  set  her 
in  safety,  and  glanced  down. 

Below,  a  little  way  to  the  left,  the  tide  was  leaping 
into  the  black  mouth  of  the  monster,  and  raising  the 
reverberations  of  the  interior  caverns. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  EMPTY  BOAT 

WE  reached  the  wicket  gate  into  the  Castle  grounds 
in  silence,  but  my  glances  showed  me  that  Per- 
dita  was  in  the  grip  of  some  emotion.  I  wondered  if  it 
were  fear,  or  anger,  or  —  was  it  something  else  ?  We 
had  not  moved  a  dozen  paces  from  the  wall  when  it 
flashed  upon  me  out  of  the  smiling  heaven  that  I  had 
directed  and  she  had  obeyed.  She  had  entered  my 
garden  of  roses  in  implicit  obedience  to  my  hand ;  she 
had  done  what  I,  the  man,  enforced.  She  had  sur- 
rendered herself  to  me,  her  will  to  mine.  How  much  did 
it  mean  ?  Was  she  still  but  the  child  in  her  terror, 
seeking  refuge  with  the  stronger  arm  ?  Or  —  ?  That 
blessed  alternative  held  me  thrilled.  In  that  supreme 
moment  of  emotion,  of  leaping  and  inspiring  passion, 
as  of  a  devotee  before  his  goddess's  shrine,  I  had  be- 
held her  turn  into  my  garden.  She  accepted  my  lead, 
and  walked  shyly,  with  averted  face,  with  heaving 
bosom  — ! 

I  stared  unhearingly  into  Jackman's  face  as  he  met 
us,  deferential  and  grave  as  ever. 

"What?"  I  said,  conscious  only  of  Perdita  and  the 
waving  June  green.  In  the  distance  my  eye  was 
caught  by  an  overarching  yew,  through  which  lovers 
might  pass.  It  led  into  the  bowling  green,  and  lovers  for 
generations  had,  of  course,  passed  under  it  to  play 

14 


210        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


bowls.  Drake  was  playing  bowls  when  the  Spanish 
Fleet  hove  in  sight.   To  play  bowls  ! 

"What?"  I  said,  trying  to  fix  my  mind  on  Jackman. 

I  knew  he  was  speaking,  but  my  pulse  was  leaping 
and  my  mind  was  jumping.  It  had  bolted  like  a  fresh 
or  frightened  horse.    I  reined  it  in. 

"And  Sir  Gilbert  being  out,  sir,  I  took  the  liberty 
of  coming  to  you." 

"Yes,  yes,"  I  answered.  "Quite  right,  Jackman. 
I'll  see  the  gentleman.    I'll — " 

I  turned  and  Perdita  had  melted  away.  Only  Jack- 
man  and  I  held  possession  of  the  copse.  I  gazed  along 
the  path  which  wound  through  the  hazels  with  dulling 
senses,  with  gradually  increasing  sobriety.  I  understood 
now;  Sir  Gilbert's  solicitor  had  called.  But  —  the 
winding  little  path  through  hazel  and  birch  was  empty. 
I  moved  on.  The  overarching  yew  was  hidden  from 
my  gaze.  I  moved  mechanically  on,  Jackman  attend- 
ing like  a  shadow. 

Mr.  Raymond  Donaldson  was  a  man  of  fifty,  of 
exceedingly  refined  and  contained  appearance,  and  of 
immaculate  dress.  His  thin  lips,  shaven  close,  moved 
almost  imperceptibly  as  he  related  his  story.  He  had 
happened  to  have  business  in  Plymouth,  and  h^.d  taken 
the  chance  of  finding  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  by  breaking 
his  journey. 

"He  will  be  chagrined  to  have  missed  you,"  I  said. 
"I  suppose  it  is  that  matter  of  the  writ." 

Mr.  Donaldson  cast  me  a  glance  from  beneath  his 
lowered  lids.  "I  have  understood  from  Sir  Gilbert 
Norroy's  letter  that  you  are  in  his  confidence  in  this 
matter,  Mr.  Brabazon,"  he  said  formally.  I  bowed. 
•T  am,  therefore,  glad  to  be  able  to  talk  with  you  as  " 


The  Empty  Boat  211 


—  he  pulled  out  his  watch  —  "it  does  not  seem  likely 
that  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Sir  Gilbert. 
Yes;  it  is  that  somewhat  unpleasant  matter." 

"The  history  of  the  debt  seems  odd,"  I  ventured. 

"A  little  unusual,"  said  Mr.  Donaldson,  "but  by  no 
means  exceptional.  The  purchase  of  debts  is  often 
resorted  to  for  one  purpose  or  another." 

"We  should  like  to  know  the  purpose  in  this  case," 
said  I.   Mr.  Donaldson  considered  the  air. 

"It  would  seem  that  there  is  a  purchaser  for  the 
estate,"  he  said  in  his  dry  voice.  "I  may  say,  Mr. 
Brabazon,  that  I  was  approached  some  time  back  by 
a  firm  of  solicitors  of  repute  with  regard  to  the  mortgage, 
which  I  am  free,  in  the  circumstances,  to  tell  you  that  I 
hold  on  the  property.   I,  however,  would  not  sell." 

"And  it  is  impossible  to  raise  this  money?"  I  asked 
bluntly. 

"The  value  of  the  estate,"  said  Mr.  Donaldson, 
precisely,  "would  not  suffice  to  cover  the  debts  of  the 
estate  plus  the  mortgage." 

I  was  silent.  "It  seems  a  hopeless  outlook,"  I  said  at 
last. 

"To  be  frank  with  you,  my  dear  sir,"  said  Mr. 
Donaldson,  "I  see  no  chance  of  staving  off  the  bank- 
ruptcy, if  these  people  proceed  to  extremities." 

"Oh,  I  think  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  they 
will,"  said  I. 

"I  have  made  some  inquiries,"  he  went  on,  "and 
have  found  that  Mr.  Horne  is  a  commission  agent  in  the 
city,  not,  I  gather,  of  any  considerable  position." 

"AndNaylor?"  I  asked. 

"Naylor!"  he  echoed.  "I  do  not  know  of  any 
Naylor." 


212        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Of  course  not;  I  had  forgotten  that  the  connection 
between  the  two  men  had  only  been  established  by  my 
observation,  and  might  even  be  chimerical.  Yet  had  not 
a  Naylor  desired  to  purchase  the  estate  ?  In  my  view, 
this  Horne  was  acting  in  the  interests  of  Mr.  Naylor, 
who  had  a  fancy  for  a  fine  gentleman's  country  seat. 
And  it  seemed  as  if  he  would  get  what  he  wanted,  and 
had  plotted  for. 

Mr.  Donaldson's  time-table  called  him  inexorably 
away,  and  he  left  without  helping  much  to  the  solution 
of  the  problem.  His  last  word  was  characteristic  of  the 
lawyer. 

''There  is  only  one  possible  chance,  Mr.  Brabazon, 
and  that  is  that  negotiations  might  prove  these  people 
to  be  lenient." 

*'They  won't ;  they  want  the  Castle,"  I  said. 

He  looked  at  me  as  though  he  would  ask  me  on  what 
I  presumed  to  make  this  astonishing  statement.  But 
he  apparently  decided  not  to  put  his  interrogation  into 
words. 

*'So  far,"  he  proceeded  instead,  "the  parties  are  only 
taking  such  steps  as  they  are  justified  in  taking  to 
protect  their  legal  rights." 

Oh,  this  jargon  !  It  was  designed  to  snub  me  for 
venturing  to  take  a  leap  in  the  dark.  But  I  could  do 
sums  in  my  head  without  counting  on  my  fingers.  I 
saw  there  was  no  hope  from  Mr.  Raymond  Donaldson. 

He  rose. 

"Naturally  I  will  do  anything  I  can  in  Sir  Gilbert's 
interests.  We  will  hold  our  mortgage.  The  late  Sir 
Edmund  Norroy,"  he  nodded,  as  if  by  way  of  explana- 
tion, "was  a  valued  client  of  ours." 

As  I  watched  him  depart,  walking,  as  he  talked,  with 


The  Empty  Boat  213 


all  due  reserve,  and  no  doubt  without  prejudice,  I 
reflected  that  a  wealthy  marriage  alone  would  save  Sir 
Gilbert.  And  when  a  little  later  the  motor-car  rushed 
up  with  two  laughing  people  behind  the  chauffeur,  the 
thought  recurred. 

''I  say,"  said  Norroy,  after  Miss  Harvey  had  gone, 
"those  beggars  are  not  gone  yet.  I  saw  what 's-his-name 
—  Home  —  in  the  village  as  we  came  through.  Now 
they've  winged  me,  why  don't  they  clear  out.^"  He 
meditated.  ''I've  a  damn  good  mind  to  try  and  strike 
a  bargain  with  him,"  he  mused. 

I  roused  him  frbm  this  brown  study  to  give  him  news 
of  Mr.  Donaldson.  Perhaps  his  idea  was  right,  coin- 
ciding as  it  marvellously  did  with  the  lawyer's.  Personal 
negotiation  might  effect  some  compromise.  But  still  I 
remembered  Naylor  and  my  theory  of  the  whole  plot. 
I  had  a  friend  of  splendid  capability,  deep  in  London 
life,  a  bright  man  of  business,  and  a  rising  figure  in 
society.  I  resolved  to  write  to  him  to  see  if  he  could 
trace  Mr.  Naylor.  An  admirable  man  of  affairs,  he 
would  know  the  ropes  better  than  any  one  else  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  wrote 
that  night. 

''By  Jove !  I'll  do  it;  I'll  see  the  little  bounder,"  was 
Norroy's  conclusion,  on  hearing  what  I  had  to  report 
of  his  solicitor. 

Miss  Harvey  had  brought  with  her  her  own  bright 
atmosphere,  and  some  news  that  rekindled  fires  anew 
in  me.  If  the  wondrous  weather  held,  it  was  designed 
(needless  to  say,  by  herself)  to  have  a  picnic  on  one 
of  the  islets  in  the  estuary.  They  had  it  all  cut  and  dried. 
Miss  Fuller  had  expressed  her  intention  of  persuading 
Miss  Forrest  to  go,  and,  indeed,  they  had  called  at 


214        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Mrs.  Lane's  on  the  way  back  with  the  express  hope  of 
getting  her  consent.  But  Perdita  had  been  out.  I 
made  the  requisite  calculation  and  found  that  Perdita 
should  have  reached  home  long  before  their  arrival  in 
Southington.  She  had  not,  then,  gone  straight  back. 
Where  had  she  wandered  ?  And  why  ? 

A  flood  of  soft  emotion  filled  my  heart,  and  I  hardly 
heard  Miss  Harvey  talking.  But  I  know  I  assented 
warmly,  nay  furiously,  to  her  proposal  of  the  picnic. 
And  after  a  futile  attempt  at  work  on  the  following 
morning,  I  bolted  my  lunch  and  went  down  to  the 
village  before  the  hour  appointed.  Norroy  had  gone 
forth  earlier  in  an  attempt  to  find  Horne,  and  I  forgot 
in  my  self-absorption  that  Miss  Harvey  had  hospitably 
included  Mr.  Toosey  in  her  invitation.  I  do  not  know 
that  this  was  not  a  device  to  pair  the  party  suitably,  for 
otherwise  we  should  have  been  five.  Anyhow,  I  forgot 
him  and  left  him  to  follow  by  himself. 

On  arriving  at  Southington  I  sought  Mrs.  Lane's 
cottage  at  once,  and  asked  for  Miss  Forrest.  In  the 
sitting-room  were  both  girls,  but  it  was  Miss  Fuller 
who  came  forward  to  greet  me. 

"Are  you  ready      I  asked. 

"  Oh,  but  it  is  n't  time,  is  it  ?  Miss  Harvey  said  four," 
she  cried. 

''I  am  like  the  boy  who  got  up  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  to  go  to  his  sports,"  I  said  lightly.  "I  have  a 
homesickness  for  that  island." 

Perdita  laughed  over  her  face,  but  with  no  sound,  and 
her  face  was  bright  and  rosy. 

"And  you,"  I  said,  taking  her  hand.  "You  are 
coming 

"Yes,"  she  said  faintly.   "It  will  be  pretty  out  there, 


The  Empty  Boat  215 


won't  it?'*  she  added,  withdrawing  her  hand  and 
arranging  a  book  nervously  on  the  table. 

"It  will  be  divine,  and,  by  the  way,  here  is  Mr.  Peter 
Toosey,  specially  got  up  for  the  function,  as  a  Venetian 
boatman.   What  are  you  going  as 

They  looked  eagerly  through  the  window  at  the 
estimable  Toosey,  in  velveteens  and  an  "art"  tie. 

"What  are  you  going  as?''  parried  Miss  Fuller, 
archly 

"Oh,  I've  been  so  long  masquerading  apparently  as 
the  proprietor  of  the  Castle,  that  I'm  going  as  myself 
for  a  change.  Will  you  go  as  yourself.  Miss  Forrest.^" 
To  my  amazement  she  lost  her  color,  and  looked  at  me 
almost  appealingly.  "You  can't  improve  upon  your- 
self," I  murmured  to  her  in  a  low  voice. 

"She  shall  go  as  a  princess  in  disguise,"  flashed  forth 
Miss  Fuller,  gayly.  "Perdita,  dear,  it's  time  you 
dressed  the  part." 

I  waited  for  them,  and  accompanied  them  to  the 
jetty,  where  my  old  friend  Hawes  had  the  boat  in 
readiness.  Here  we  were  joined  at  intervals  by  Mr. 
Toosey  and  Sir  Gilbert. 

"I've  been  hunting  for  that  little  beggar  all  the 
morning,"  said  the  latter,  plaintively.  "He's  been  at 
the  inn,  but  they  say  he  went  down  to  the  Point.  I 
say.  Miss  Fuller,  would  you  like  my  coat  to  sit  on  ? 
Those  seats  are  hard." 

She  looked  as  if  she  were  going  to  accept,  but  refused. 
"No,  thank  you.  I'm  quite  comfortable."  I  knew  she 
was  thinking  of  Christobel.  I  have  never  met  any  one 
so  wonderful  as  Miss  Fuller.  Perdita  sat  by  me  in  the 
stern,  for  I  had  the  strings  of  the  rudder,  Norroy  being 
ignorant  of  the  craftsmanship  of  the  sea.   Miss  Harvey 


216        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


arrived  late,  and  overflowing  with  spirits.  We  were 
launched  in  sunshine  and  gayety. 

Mr.  Toosey  in  his  velveteens  displayed  a  handiness 
in  the  boat  which  made  my  task  easy,  and  we  sailed  an 
unruffled  summer  sea  at  a  gentle  pace.  We  tacked 
down  to  the  Point,  returned  along  the  eastern  wood- 
fringed  shore,  and  finally  made  our  islet.  It  was  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  in  length  and  perhaps  fifty  in 
breadth ;  but  it  had  a  generous  shelter  of  trees,  and  we 
rested  in  the  ample  shade  and  made  our  tea,  and  ate 
our  sandwiches  on  a  table-cloth  brought  by  that  judi- 
cious housekeeper.  Miss  Fuller.  Then  we  told  tales,  and 
I  wish  you  could  have  heard  Mr.  Toosey's  story  of 
pirates  he  had  escaped  in  Barbary.  It  was  horrific,  it 
raised  the  hair,  and  protestations  from  the  ladies. 
What  he  mistook  for  pirates  were  probably  artists 
dressed  like  himself  and  of  a  similar  appearance;  but 
I  am  bound  to  say  his  tale  was  as  credible  as  mine  which 
I  frankly  stole  from  a  penny-dreadful  I  had  read  in 
the  train.  So  far  as  I  could  make  out  from  his  involved 
way  of  telling  his.  Sir  Gilbert's  concerned  a  horse  that 
he  had  backed  and  a  man  who  asked  him  to  fight  a 
duel  and  one  of  them  was  killed.  I  was  left  in  doubt  if 
it  were  the  horse  but  hoped  so.  Miss  Fuller's  was  a 
story  of  a  romantic  gorge  in  Wales  which  she  had  visited, 
and  dealt  with  a  man  whose  sweetheart  was  killed  by 
falling  over  it,  and  who,  thereupon,  haunted  it  till  he 
joined  her  in  the  underworld.  Miss  Harvey  told  us 
how  old  man  Simmonds  of  Chicago  bested  his  rivals  in 
a  wheat  deal,  but  I  don't  think  dear  Perdita  under- 
stood it  perfectly  owing  to  its  technical  terms.  And 
hers  ? 

"The  cliflFs  of  Outremer,"  began  Perdita  in  her  soft. 


The  Empty  Boat  217 


sweet  voice,  "were  a  formidable  precipice  that  descended 
sheer  to  the  rocks  of  the  seashore,  where  the  waters 
beat,  and  the  tangles  of  seaweed  forever  waved  in 
the  breeze.  And  in  the  base  of  the  cliffs  was  a  vast 
cavern." 

I  stirred,  and  slowly  looked  at  her.  She  was  gazing 
before  her  at  the  sea  which  rolled  in  upon  our  little 
beach.  "It  was  an  evil  cavern,"  she  went  on,  "and 
was  reputed  to  be  haunted  by  gnomes  and  wicked 
spirits."  It  thrilled  me  to  think  that  we  had  both  been 
captured  by  the  same  fancy.  We  had  not  exchanged 
views  of  the  cave,  but  it  had  impressed  her  imagination 
as  it  had  mine.  And  she  had  not  feared  to  carrv  back 
my  thoughts  to  that  episode.   Perdita  ! 

"In  the  entrance  to  the  cavern,  it  was  said,  at  times 
an  apparition  of  a  maiden  was  to  be  seen,  lying  on  the 
sands  between  the  rocks  and  singing  a  wild  song  in  days 
of  storm.  And  when  the  wind  was  highest,  and  the 
night  was  deepest,  mariners  who  passed  those  dreaded 
rocks  at  sea  would  hear  her  voice  mingling  with  the 
noises  of  the  elements,  and  would  shudder  and  cross 
themselves.   But  one  day  a  young  fisherman  ..." 

I  listened,  rapt,  while  Perdita's  gallant  adventurer 
braved  the  terrors  of  the  cliffs,  and  penetrated  into 
the  cavern  in  the  moonlight  to  find  the  beautiful  Loreley 
who  sang.  And  I  heard  how  the  gnomes  and  the  evil 
spirits  of  the  underworld  tormented  him,  and  how  he 
fought  them,  and  at  infinite  cost  to  himself  con- 
quered them,  and  how  at  last  he  found  the  maiden,  and, 
behold,  she  was  but  a  hag  in  seaweed  and  kelp,  and  her 
face  wore  the  Avrinkles  of  a  thousand  years  of  evil ;  so 
that  the  young  fisherman  in  horror  fled  from  her  pres- 
ence, and  out  into  the  open,  where  the  waters  seized  him 


218        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


and  buffeted  him,  and  he  lay  drowned  in  the  depths  of 
the  sea. 

"And  that,"  said  ruthless  Perdita,"  was  how  the 
young  fisherman  met  his  death  for  an  ideal.  If  he  had 
been  content  to  live  among  his  own  folk  he  would  have 
married  and  lived  happily  ever  afterwards.  And  as  to 
which  is  the  better  fate,  judge  you  between  them." 

"Oh,  Perdita,  Perdita  !"  I  whispered  under  cover  of 
a  sudden  outbreak  of  comment  and  protest.  "It  is  all 
directed  at  me.  But  what  care  I  ?  My  faith  is  fixed. 
It  is  among  the  stars  and  with  Perdita." 

A  smile  in  which  playfulness  trembled  shyly  with 
tenderness  flitted  towards  me. 

"The  beggar  ought  to  have  stayed  at  home,"  said 
Norroy,  taking  the  cigar  from  his  mouth.  "I  only  wish 
I  had  a  home  to  stay  at." 

Miss  Harvey  laughed,  and  then,  "Why,"  she  said 
suddenly,  "I  hope  that  boat  is  n't  coming  here." 

We  all  looked,  and  saw  a  sailing-boat  riding  the 
waters  a  few  hundred  yards  away.  While  we  stared 
the  tiller  was  put  up,  and  she  went  off  on  a  new  course 
the  other  side  of  the  island. 

"Surely,  they  wouldn't  have  the  cheek,"  said  Sir 
Gilbert. 

"Let  us  say  the  heart,"  I  corrected. 

After  that  Miss  Harvey  sang  some  songs  in  her 
beautiful  voice,  and  I  drew  nearer  to  Perdita. 

"Eight  o'clock,  by  Jove!"  said  Sir  Gilbert  at  last, 
and  rose  and  turned  round,  as  if  he  were  listening  to 
something. 

"Dear  me,  we  must  get  back,"  sighed  Miss  Harvey. 
*'But  it  has  been  glorious." 

"I'll  see  about  the  boat,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  and 


The  Empty  Boat  219 


vanished  into  the  bushes ;  for  the  boat  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  island,  high  and  dry,  and  tied  fast  to  a  tree, 
to  secure  it. 

"Do  sing  again!"  pleaded  Miss  Fuller,  enthusias- 
tically.   Good-naturedly  Miss  Harvey  acceded. 

"  ^  Die  schdnsie  Jungfrau  sitzet  dort  ohen  vmnderbar. 

Ihr  goldenes  Geschmeide  blitzet  sie  Kdmmi  ihr  goldenes  Haar; 
Sie  Kdmmt  es  mit  goldenem  Kdmme  und  singt  ein  Lieddabei; 
Das  hat  eine  wundersamey  gewaltige  MelodeV  " 

Perdita  caught  my  eyes  on  her,  and  the  flush  in  her 
face  grew  deeper. 

''But  my  Loreley  has  not  golden  hair,"  I  whispered^ 
"and  I  hope,  (oh,  how  I  hope  !)  she  has  not  a  cold  heart. 
Do  you  know  gold  hair  and  cold  heart  go  together, 
Perdita  ?  Oh,  my  love  is  like  a  red,  red  rose  and  has  the 
rich  warmth  of  that  color  in  her  heart.  Turn  your  face 
a  little  that  way,  sweetheart.  So ;  your  profile  is  divine, 
and  I  can  see  your  demure  eyelashes.  'Behold  thou  art 
fair,  my  love  ?  Thou  hast  doves'  eyes  within  thy  locks.* 
Why  did  you  dare  to  provoke  me  with  that  false  tale, 
Perdita  ?  Oh,  how  had  you  the  heart  ?  Did  you  feel 
me  breathe  a  kiss  towards  you  as  I  carried  you  up  the 
cliff  ?  I  did  —  I  did,  and  I  am  not  ashamed ;  I  would 
do  it  again.  Why  did  you  run  away,  child  ?  'Oh,  my 
lost  love,  my  own,  own  love  !  '  I  think  you  were  called 
Perdita  because  you  are  lost  to  all  others  —  all  others 
that  desire  you  save  one.  I  wonder  who  that  is.  I  will 
find  out  some  day,  Perdita." 

Miss  Harvey  was  singing  another  German  folk-song 
— "  Vergiss  mein  nicht  .  .  ."  Perdita  listened,  her 
head  averted  slightly  from  me. 

"Will  you  go  away  and  forget  me,  Perdita  ^  I  believe 
you  would  if  you  could,  little  wanton.    But  you  shall 


220        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


not.  I  will  leave  my  mark  upon  you.  If  you  escape 
the  ogre  you  shall  at  least  remember  him.  Did  I  say  my 
love  had  dove's  eyes  ?  Why,  they  flash  like  a  tiger's. 
'  Vergiss  mein  nicht ' —  forget  me  not,  Perdita  !" 

"I  wonder  where  Sir  Gilbert  has  got  to,"  said  Miss 
Harvey,  as  she  finished. 

Mr.  Toosey  got  to  his  feet;  the  water  rolled  in  bur- 
nished ripples  to  our  feet,  and  the  setting  sun  lighted  the 
green  fringes  of  the  opposing  shore  and  struck  a  golden 
pathway  over  the  water. 

Perdita  had  not  spoken  one  single  word,  and  as  I 
also  rose  I  saw  the  fulness  of  her  face,  and  it  was 
flushed  like  the  sunset  over  the  hills  and  her  eyes  were 
deep  and  dewy.  I  passed  on  with  Toosey  to  find 
Norroy,  my  heart  bright  like  the  morning.  Sir  Gilbert 
was  not  at  the  little  strand  where  we  had  beached  our 
boat,  and  the  boat  was  gone.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
he  had  launched  her,  and  was  paddling  round  the 
island,  but  Toosey's  voice  arrested  me. 

"It's  gone  — it's  off,"  he  called.  "What's  that.?^ 
Look  !"  I  followed  his  finger,  and  perceived  an  empty 
boat  tossing  on  the  broken  water  a  hundred  yards  away ; 
and  from  that  my  eyes  carried  on  to  a  boat  further  out 
with  sails  set,  drawing  out  down  the  estuary. 

"What  the  mischief —  I  began,  and  then  raised 
my  voice  and  shouted. 

It  was  plainly  our  boat  broken  loose  somehow  from 
the  unaccustomed  hands  of  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy.  I 
shouted  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  second  boat.  But 
it  was  sliding  down  on  the  outgoing  tide,  under  the 
quickening  vesper  breeze.  My  shouts  were  unheard; 
at  least  they  met  with  no  response.  And  yet  I  could  not 
think  that  my  voice  had  not  carried  so  far.   I  saw  her 


The  Empty  Boat  221 


bow  taking  the  spray;  she  passed  momently  farther 
away,  leaving  our  craft  a  helpless  derelict,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  sea.  In  consternation  I  turned  round.  Where 
was  Norroy  ?  The  island  had  no  trace  of  him.  He  had 
vanished. 


1 


CHAPTER  XVI 

"  IN  A  DEEP  SEA  LIKE  DEATH  " 

TOOSEY  and  I  ransacked  the  island  without  result. 
Whatever  had  become  of  Norroy  he  was  no 
longer  there ;  and  we  made  our  way  back  to  the  ladies 
puzzled,  anxious,  and  even  alarmed  by  the  situation. 
We  found  them  in  some  perturbation,  having  heard 
my  shouts,  and  this  was  in  no  way  allayed  on  receiving 
our  news. 

"But  Sir  Gilbert!"  said  Miss  Harvey.  "He  must 
be —  He  can't  be  drowned  !"  she  cried,  white  as  her 
dress. 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,"  said  I,  cheerily.  "If  he  had  met 
^ith  an  accident  it  would  have  been  seen  by  those  in 
the  other  boat." 

I  had  been  thinking  things  out,  but  I  had  not  got 
Tery  much  beyond  this  conclusion,  which  also  seemed 
insecure.   It  was  Mr.  Toosey  who  startled  us  all. 

"Sir  Gilbert  has  been  kidnapped,"  he  remarked 
breathlessly. 

"Kidnapped!"  Miss  Harvey's  repetition  embodied 
the  amazement  of  each. 

"You  see,"  said  Toosey,  warming  to  his  subject  and 
getting  excited.  "You  have  to  eliminate  all  impossi- 
bilities, and  what 's  left  is  the  fact.  Now,  take  it  that 
Sir  Gilbert  went,  as  he  did,  to  get  the  boat  loose  and 


"In  a  Deep  Sea  like  Death''  223 


launched.  He  succeeded,  of  course.  If  he  had  put  out 
(which  is  unlikely,  as  he  is  no  sailor)  and  had  met  with 
an  accident,  as  Mr.  Brabazon  says,  this  would  have 
been  noticed  by  a  boat  which  was  only  a  short  distance 
off.  Now  note ;  the  peop]  e  in  the  second  boat  must 
have  seen  the  drifting  boat.  And  yet  they  did  not  take 
it  in  tow,  or  give  notice  to  any  one  left  on  the  island. 
On  the  contrary  they  paid  no  heed  to  Mr.  Brabazon 's 
shouts.  This  proves  that  they  purposely  neglected  the 
boat  —  also  that  they  had  previous  cognizance  of  it. 
I  take  it  that  this  is  what  happened,  if  we  reconstruct 
the  incident.  Sir  Gilbert  looses  the  boat,  is  surprised 
by  the  occupants  of  the  other  boat,  and  knocked  on 
the  head.  Then  they  put  off  with  him,  leaving  our 
boat  adrift." 

He  looked  from  one  to  another  of  us  in  a  challenge, 
but  we  did  not  speak.  For  once  Mr.  Toosey's  theories 
seemed  to  us  feasible;  only  Miss  Fuller  broke  out 
plaintively. 

'*But  people  don't  do  such  things  in  the  twentieth 
century." 

Mr.  Toosey,  holding  the  floor  triumphantly,  turned 
to  her. 

''My  dear  lady,"  he  said,  "I  should  not  like  to  put  a 
limit  to  what  human  nature  is  capable  of.  The  Bar- 
bary  pirates  —  " 

"Oh,  don't  let's  talk  about  Barbary  pirates  when 
we  're  in  this  dreadful  uncertainty,"  broke  in  Miss 
Harvey.    "What  is  to  be  done,  Mr.  Brabazon  .^" 

"We  are  in  a  quandary  ourselves,"  I  said.  "We 
have  no  means  of  getting  ashore.  Mr.  Toosey's  version 
is  possible,  and,  guessing  as  much  as  I  guess  of  the 
people  we  have  had  to  deal  with  lately,  even  probable.. 


224        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


The  first  thing  to  consider,  then,  is  how  to  get  off.  We 
must  signal  to  the  mainland." 

That  was  the  pressing  duty,  and  we  drowned  our 
other  contingent  cares  in  its  active  performance.  First, 
we  collected  all  the  handkerchiefs  of  the  party,  and, 
fixing  them  together  into  a  white  flag,  ran  this  up  to 
the  end  of  a  pole,  which  we  stuck  in  a  conspicuous 
place  on  the  side  of  the  islet  and  towards  Southington. 
But  that  was  only  the  opening  of  our  campaign;  we 
could  not  be  dependent  on  a  mere  flag.  Of  course  it 
was  always  possible  that  some  boat  returning  down 
the  estuary  might  pass  near  us,  but  that  chance  was 
lessening  every  minute  with  the  fall  of  the  twilight. 
Our  chief  design  was  to  build  a  bonfire ;  and  in  order  to 
keep  the  girls  from  growing  alarmed,  I  despatched  them 
to  search  the  isle  for  fuel.  The  island  was  grown  with 
bushes,  fringed  with  willows  and  tamarisk,  and  occu- 
pied by  a  few  oaks  and  elms  at  intervals  amid  the  under- 
growth. The  debris  of  past  autumns  and  winters  had 
accumulated  underfoot,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  col- 
lect a  large  pile  of  dead  wood  and  dead  leaves.  Then 
we  kindled  our  pyre,  and  stood  aside  to  watch  it  flare. 
Smoke  and  flame  mounted  to  heaven  in  leaps,  and  we 
were  all  confident  that  the  conflagration  must  be 
easily  seen  in  Southington.  Certainly  this  must  have 
been  so,  but  our  mistake  lay  in  imagining  the  villagers 
would  interpret  our  fire  for  a  signal  of  distress.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  they  did  not,  and,  though  we  maintained 
our  beacon  for  more  than  two  hours,  it  aroused  no 
curiosity  and  brought  no  relief.  By  that  time  the 
ladies  had  begun  to  despair. 

Night  long  since  had  settled  on  us,  yet  not  profound 
darkness.    Night  in  midsummer  seems  to  partake  of 


*'In  a  Deep  Sea  like  Death''  225 


a  forgotten  cousinship  with  the  day.  It  is  a  luminous 
darkness  that  prevails,  and  encumbers  the  night  as  with 
a  lucid  mist.  I  could  stand  by  the  babbling  shore  and 
pierce  the  brooding  veil  upon  the  sea  with  the  shafts 
my  eyes,  and  feel  none  of  the  oppression  of  that  blank- 
ness  that  falls  with  night  in  winter.  And  I  could  descry 
also  the  remote  and  twinkling  lights  of  Southington 
over  waters  that  were  not  black  but  rather  ghostly.  Dis- 
tress had  settled  upon  us  also  with  the  darkness.  The 
girls  made  no  complaint,  but  resigned  themselves,  as 
their  sex  will  always  resign  in  its  primitive  way  to  des- 
tiny. In  my  heart,  and  I  think  in  Toosey's  also,  re- 
bellion bubbled  up  still,  determination  was  still  un- 
quenched. 

"How  far  would  you  put  it  to  the  mainland?"  I 
asked  the  artist. 

"Three  quarters  of  a  mile  or  so,"  he  replied. 
"What  about  swimming 

He  shook  his  head.  "I  can't  swim  a  stroke,"  he  said 
sadly. 

"I  don't  think  I  could  stay  it,"  I  said.  "But  some- 
thing must  be  done.   I  wonder." 

I  went  on  wondering  while  the  fire  flamed  to  heaven, 
and  the  three  girls  sat  forlornly  watching  it  and  the 
unresponsive  ocean.  I  examined  my  watch  and  found 
it  close  on  eleven.  We  were  destined  to  remain  pris- 
oners all  night.  I  would  give  Fate  twenty  minutes 
longer. 

We  filled  the  interval,  Toosey  and  I,  in  preparing  a 
protection  of  branches  for  the  ladies.  With  this  rude 
screen  behind  them  and  the  blazing  fire  in  front,  they 
would  take  no  harm  from  the  night  airs  or  the  damp 
Then  I  beckoned  Toosey  away  and  told  him. 

15 


226         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


**Keep  them  from  worrying,"  I  enjoined.  "Let 
them  rest  if  they  can.    I  will  do  my  best." 

He  looked  doubtful ;  but  the  cast  of  the  shore  now 
seemed  to  me  not  so  distant.  I  stripped  myself  to 
my  underclothes,  and  with  a  farewell  to  him  launched 
out  into  the  water  from  the  lower  side  of  the  island. 
I  was  aware  from  the  outset  that  everything  depended 
on  the  currents.  The  tide  was  drawing  strongly  under 
me  and  bore  me  slantwise  down  stream.  I  could  see 
the  lights  of  the  shore  moving  with  each  stroke,  and 
I  labored,  not  to  make  a  direct  passage,  but  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  tide.  If  I  were  fortunate  I  reckoned  that 
I  should  come  ashore  somewhere  between  Southington 
and  the  Point.  I  swam  for  some  time  steadily,  occa- 
sionally with  the  side  stroke,  and  now  and  again  on  my 
back.  The  water  was  rather  cold  and  I  felt  chilled. 
But  if  I  was  making  way,  as  I  hoped,  I  was  not  afraid 
now  of  failing  to  stay  the  distance.  Underneath  me 
was  a  swathing  whirl  of  water.  I  swam  easily  .  .  .  too 
easily,  it  occurred  to  me  with  alarm.  I  glanced  at  the 
shore,  and  saw  the  lights  had  fallen  behind.  I  was  in 
the  tow  of  a  fierce  current,  and  I  realized  with  a  thrill 
that  I  was  going  down  midstream  like  a  piece  of  wood. 
I  was  being  carried  out  to  the  mouth  of  the  estuarj''  and 
the  open  sea. 

From  that  moment  of  realization  I  abandoned  any 
thought  of  the  Southington  shore  and  strove  to  work 
backwards.  The  currents  with  which  I  had  started 
did  not  seem  to  have  been  so  strong  as  that  which  now 
had  me.  I  beat  for  the  other  shore  desperately,  fight- 
ing with  nail  and  claw.  The  water  was  broken  by  the 
roughening  wind  and  chopped  in  my  face;  it  lapped 
against  me  as  if  moving  outwards,  but  I  thought  that 


*'In  A  Deep  Sea  like  Death"  227 


if  I  could  get  under  the  lee  of  the  land  I  should  at  least 
be  in  a  quieter  sea. 

I  battled  for  half  an  hour  with  the  tide,  and  at  the 
end  I  could  not  say  if  I  had  succeeded.  Darkness  had 
now  eclipsed  everything ;  no  lights  were  visible,  and  for 
all  that  I  knew  I  might  be  wrestling  in  mid-channel.  I 
strove  now  quite  blindly,  fighting  every  inch  of  the 
way  with  the  tide,  and  instinctively  throwing  myself 
in  opposition  to  it.  If  I  could  breast  that  demon,  I 
knew  it  spelt  safety;  beyond  and  without,  there  was 
nothing  but  death. 

The  roar  of  the  water  was  like  monstrous  droning 
bagpipes  in  my  ears.  I  shut  my  eyes  and  clenched  my 
teeth  and  battered  against  the  waves.  And  soon  I  was 
aware  that  the  chill  was  creeping  upwards  from  my 
feet.  Of  a  sudden  the  dying  words  of  Socrates  came 
into  my  mind  —  how  oddly  !  "When  the  cold  reaches 
my  heart  I  shall  die."  The  thought  lashed  me  to  a 
maddened  effort.  My  failing  arms  went  through  the 
water  mechanically  and  did  not  seem  to  belong  to  me. 
They  were  dull  implements  that  moved  without  sensa- 
tion and  had  no  relation  with  living  things.  Yet  there 
was  some  vague  pain  connected  with  them.  I  wondered 
if  I  had  the  power  to  stop,  or  whether  these  arms  would 
not  go  beating  on  after  I  had  sunk  fathoms  deep  and 
tossed  with  tangle  and  shell.  It  appeared  now  an  easy 
matter  to  go  down  and  down,  and  not  very  objection- 
able. It  only  meant  sinking  a  little  lower,  so  that  the 
salt  water  covered  one's  mouth  not  part  of  the  time  but 
all  the  time,  and  then  the  heavy  press  of  slow,  tangible, 
gurgling  stuff  about  one's  face  and  over  one's  head  — 
sheets  of  light  in  the  brain,  such  as  flashed  now  through 
my  eyes  in  the  darkness,  a  dull  and  even  murmur  of 


228         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


water,  around,  in  the  ears,  in  the  mind,  everywhere,  a 
burning  in  the  throat,  such  as  gripped  me  now,  a  gentle, 
gradual,  nay,  even  comfortable,  settlement  into  the 
element  about  me.  I  was  one  with  the  water,  one  with 
the  waves,  all  darkness  about  me,  save  one  gleam 
across  the  mind,  like  the  light  of  Southington  village. 
I  felt  a  consciousness  in  my  leg,  and  then  it  ceased,  and 
I  was  numb  again. 

The  light  in  my  mind  faded  from  brightness  into 
twilight;  it  wavered  about  a  figure  which  I  could  not 
determine,  and  then  went  out.  I  did  not  know  if  my 
arms  were  moving  still,  or  my  head  were  under  water. 
There  was  no  pain  now,  and  no  desire  to  go  on.  I  was 
just  at  rest  — ■  at  one  with  the  water.  .  .  . 

I  was  conscious  of  a  blow  which  caused  no  pain,  but 
merely  stirred  me,  and  I  awoke  with  no  physical  senses 
about  me,  but  merely  to  that  lightning  flash  in  the 
brain.  Deep  down  in  that  central  self  which  was  I,  I 
was  aware  of  the  words  ''I  sleep  but  my  heart  waketh." 
I  seemed  to  repeat  them,  but  outside  the  central  self  wa^ 
silence  —  silence,  and  now  a  growing  pain  in  every  part 
of  me. 

Something  pressed  my  numb  back;  a  sound  floated 
into  my  ears  .  .  .  sounds,  and  one  the  indeterminate 
low  voice  of  the  sea  that  I  had  once  heard,  an  i.  another 
.  .  .  what  was  that  other  ? 

It  was  a  voice  .  .  .  words  .  .  .  My  eyes  fell  open, 
and  something  brushed  my  face;  something  as  it  were 
rain  from  heaven  dripped  upon  my  forehead,  which 
was  burning.  Something  moved  upon  my  breast,  and 
it  was  a  hand.  I  wondered  if  it  was  my  hand.  And 
then  a  face  pressed  close  against  my  hot  brow,  and  I 
heard  the  voice  again  .  .  .  words  .  .  ^ 


*'In  a  Deep  Sea  like  Death"  229 


"My  darling  .  .  .  my  darling  ..." 

I  tried  to  lift  my  hand,  but  it  did  not  belong  to  me. 
I  opened  my  mouth,  but  I  made  no  sound. 

^'Perdita!"  I  murmured  in  that  central  self  where 
all  things  are  registered  when  speech  and  hearing  and 
sight  and  life  are  not. 

The  rain  gushed  from  her  eyes.  ...  I  saw  I  was 
lying  on  a  shore  among  dark  bushes,  stars  in  heaven, 
and  a  woman's  arms  about  me.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  know  how  long  it  was  afterwards  that  I 
found  Toosey  supporting  me  with  one  arm  while  he 
held  a  flask  to  my  lips  with  his  other  hand.  I  had  come 
to  life  again ;  and  the  whole  audible  and  visible  world 
jumped  up  round  about  me  as  of  yore. 

It  was  not  until  a  good  deal  later,  not  in  fact  until  I 
was  revolving  the  matter  fully  next  day,  that  I  was  able 
to  form  a  reasonable  theory  as  to  what  had  happened 
to  me.  It  was  clear  that  my  frantic  efforts  to  reach  the 
shore  had  resulted  in  taking  me  nearer  to  it  than  I  had 
known.  At  one  time,  indeed,  as  I  guessed,  I  must  have 
been  only  a  hundred  yards  from  the  creek  which  leads 
up  to  Baring.  But  here  I  had  got  into  the  race  which 
forms  on  the  tail  of  the  outgoing  tide  towards  the  island, 
and  on  that  current  I  was  thrown  up  on  my  point  of 
departure. 

I  recovered  slowly,  but  presently  under  Toosey  j 
kindly  administrations  I  was  able  to  get  into  my  clothes 
again.  The  dear  man  was  much  concerned  about  me, 
shook  his  head  over  my  rashness,  and  said  all  was  well 
on  the  island.  My  absence  had  not  been  discovered.  I 
experienced  a  sudden  odd  sensation.  Was  it  a  mirage 
that  I  had  seen  ?  Was  it  merely  in  my  dreams  that 
l  erciita  had  been  weeping  over  me  and  holding  me  in 


230        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


her  arms,  and  wringing  her  hands  ?  Toosey's  cheer- 
fulness was  salient,  almost  false  in  effect.  I  had  some 
doubts  about  him.  I  rested  at  length  upon  the  ground, 
too  much  exhausted  to  walk,  or  even  to  ask  ques- 
tions; and  by  and  by  I  was  aware  that  he  had  stolen 
away. 

I  heard  the  water  lapping  on  the  sea  beach,  and  the 
breeze  whispering  in  the  trees ;  and  when  I  opened  my 
eyes  next  I  saw  a  white  form  between  the  parted  bushes 
and  some  one  looking  at  me. 

"Perdita!"  I  called,  ^^Perdita!" 

She  came  a  little  nearer,  so  near  that  I  put  out  a 
hand  and  weakly  seized  her  skirt.  She  stooped,  and  I 
caught  her  about  the  neck. 

"It  was  you,  then!"  I  said.  "It  was  you,  my 
darling." 

She  descended  upon  me,  lying  there,  and  put  her 
face  to  mine,  and  sobbed  and  kissed  me.  Her  cold 
pale  face  rested  on  mine ;  she  sobbed  and  pressed  close 
to  me,  and  called  me  her  dearest  and  her  love.  Passion 
sprang  from  her  in  a  fount  and  overflowed  me.  Through 
all  the  reserves  and  embankments  of  her  maiden  heart 
it  broke  in  a  clear  full  torrent  upon  me.  She  was  mine, 
eternally  and  irrevocably  mine ! 

We  sat,  talking  but  little,  into  the  morning,  content 
to  live  and  breathe  and  be  together.  In  the  east  the 
chill  of  the  approaching  dawn  heralded  a  new  day, 
and  the  waste  of  water  emerged  from  its  black  shroud 
into  a  grayness.  What  roused  me  at  last  from  my 
happy  reverie  was  a  shout,  and  then  a  second.  Perdita 
rose  swiftly  and  flew  like  a  roe  through  the  bushes; 
and  I  managed  to  get  to  my  feet,  stiff  and  sore  and 
aching. 


''In  a  Deep  Sea  like  Death''  231 


"Brabazon!"  Toosey's  voice  conveyed  to  me.  "A 
boat !    A  rescue  !" 

I  made  my  way  with  difficulty  to  the  other  side  of  the 
isle  and  joined  the  excited  party.  Out  of  the  loosening 
darkness  a  dim  shape  was  advancing  on  the  water. 
Toosey  hailed  it,  and  was  answered  back.  It  rushed 
on  us  like  a  monstrous  bird,  checked,  swerved,  and  slid 
with  its  nose  upon  the  sand.  In  five  minutes  we  were 
all  on  board. 

Hawes,  the  boatman,  who  had  the  tiller,  now  gave  us 
his  story.  The  empty  tossing  boat  seen  off  the  Point 
had  spread  dismay  earlier  in  the  night ;  but  it  was  not 
known  in  what  direction  to  look  for  us.  Word  travelled 
to  Southington,  where  the  fire  furnished  the  necessary 
direction.  In  view  of  the  discovery  of  the  boat,  this 
took  on  a  new  and  grave  importance.  Hence  the  ex- 
pedition which  rescued  us. 

Now  that  our  troubles  were  past,  an  exceeding 
cheerfulness  prevailed.  Miss  Fuller  had  already 
begun  to  see  the  adventure  in  romantic  perspective; 
Miss  Harvey  was  practical  and  talkative.  It  seemed 
that  she  had  fallen  asleep  in  the  comfort  of  the 
fire. 

"Well,  you  can  call  it  an  experience,"  she  declared. 
"But  I  don't  think  I 'm  asking  for  any  more.  What 
became  of  you.  Miss  Perdita.^  I  woke  up  once  and 
you  weren't  there." 

"Oh,  I  —  I  felt  restless,  and  wandered  about  the 
island,"  said  Perdita  faintly. 

She  was  lying  wrapped  up  near  me,  and  I  turned  to 
her.  "Did  you  hear  a  cry  ?  Did  my  spirit  call  to  yours, 
darling.?^"  I  whispered. 

"It  must,"  she  said.    "The  stars  showed  me  you 


232        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


lying  white  and  cold  on  the  strand."  She  shuddered. 
"I  thought  you  were  dead." 

"There 's  one  thing,"  remarked  Miss  Harvey  in  her 
most  authoritative  way.  "This  rescue  is  all  right  for 
us.   But  where  is  poor  Sir  Gilbert?" 

Yes,  we  had  come  back  to  that  problem.  What  had 
become  of  Sir  Gilbert? 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  HAVANA  CIGAR 

THE  sun  well  in  the  heaven  was  burning  brightly 
when  I  awoke  the  next  morning.  I  stiil  ached  in 
all  my  body,  but  there  was  an  eager  day's  work  before 
me,  and  I  could  not  afford  to  lie  abed.  To  myself  I 
seemed  a  stranger  upon  earth,  newborn  into  a  new 
sweet  life.  From  death  I  had  floated  into  Paradise, 
into  a  life  of  abundant  sunshine  and  richness  and 
grace.  I  was  not  likely  to  stay  my  flights  of  thought, 
consequent  upon  the  night,  but  what  I  set  down  here 
has  nothing  to  do  with  those :  the  record  of  this  strange 
story  demands  my  attention. 

Between  my  rising  and  lunch  I  was  in  the  village 
making  inquiries.  No  trace  of  Norroy  was  there  to  be 
found.  I  went  as  far  as  the  Point,  and  still  heard  noth- 
ing. At  lunch  Peter  Toosey  and  I  talked  it  all  over. 
His  curious  agile  mind  had  undoubtedly  found  a 
feasible  solution.  The  boat  we  had  seen  while  pic- 
nicking might  have  made  a  landing  in  our  rear;  and 
the  only  possible  explanation  of  Norroy's  disappearance 
lay  in  the  hypothesis  that  he  had  been  kidnapped  by 
it.    But  why  ? 

I  turned  this  problem  over  in  my  mind  carefully, 
persistently,  anxiously.  There  could  be  no  doubt  that 
only  one  group  of  persons  could  have  directed  this  blow. 
The  trouble  was  to  find  an  explanation  for  their  con- 


234         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


duct.  They  had  serv^ed  their  writ  on  Norroy,  which 
had,  as  I  understood  it,  the  object  of  forcing  him  into 
bankruptcy  and  acquiring  his  estate.  If  so,  they  would 
evidently  not  desire  that  he  should  be  able  to  discharge 
the  debt  for  which  they  had  instigated  proceedings.  Was 
it  possible  that  they  had  taken  alarm  at  his  relations 
with  Miss  Harv^ey,  a  notable  heiress  ?  It  was  impossible 
to  guess.  But  one  thing  was  certain  —  that  to  solve  the 
secret  we  must  watch  Mr.  Horne  and  his  friends  and 
accomplices. 

I  felt  certain  that  I  should  he^r  from  Miss  Harvey, 
and  in  the  early  afternoon  I  had  my  faith  substantiated. 
She  came  over  with  her  mother,  alive  with  anxiety  and 
activity.  Mrs.  Harvey  exhibited  more  distress  than  I 
should  have  deemed  the  circumstances  warranted. 
She  had  once  indicated  to  me  her  poor  opinion  of  Sir 
Gilbert ;  but  he  had  now  risen  to  the  height  of  a  victim, 
even  of  a  hero.  What  were  we  going  to  do  She  sug- 
gested cabling  to  Pinkerton's  in  New  York,  being 
evidently  distrustful  of  our  English  detectives.  But  I 
told  her  that  I  did  not  think  the  time  had  come  for  that 
resource,  at  which  her  daughter  was  clearly  relieved. 
For  some  reason  or  other  I  gathered  that  Christobel  had 
confidence  in  me.  I  said  that  inquiries  had  already  been 
set  on  foot,  and  that,  if  we  learned  nothing  from  them, 
we  should  take  other  steps.  It  was  Toosey,  not  I,  who 
suggested,  in  defiance  of  his  previous  statement,  that 
Sir  Gilbert  had  possibly  bolted  to  France  to  escape  the 
process  of  law.  He  threw  out  brilliant  suggestions  as  an 
anvil  throws  out  sparks,  but,  in  the  light  of  what  hap- 
pened later,  I  will  not  venture  to  depreciate  his  ingenuity. 
Let  it  sulSSce  to  say  that  his  suggestion  was  scornfully 
rejected. 


The  Havana  Cigar  235 


The  next  day  I  heard  from  my  friend  in  London 
regarding  a  query  which  I  had  forgotten.  He  had  found 
no  difficulty  in  identifying  Mr.  Naylor,  having  the 
memory  of  a  man  whose  meteoric  career  in  the  city  he 
had  come  across  a  few  years  earlier.  Naylor,  he  said, 
if  this  were  the  man,  was  a  financier  of  plausible  address 
and  of  some  good  fortune,  w^ho  had,  however,  of  late, 
narrowly  escaped  the  bankruptcy  court  and  a  prosecu- 
tion. It  was  interesting,  but  hardly  shed  any  light  on 
our  trouble. 

Yet  upon  Naylor  I  felt  that  my  attention  must  centre. 
If  any  one  was  the  key  to  the  situation  it  was  he. 
Early  that  same  afternoon  the  Harvey s  arrived  again, 
and  as  I  reached  the  gate  I  met  them  entering  the  park 
with  Miss  Fuller  and  my  Perdita.  I  had  gone  down 
to  the  village  to  invite  them  to  tea,  and  had  demurely, 
and  with  the  utmost  propriety  and  even  rigidity  of 
conduct,  conducted  them  to  the  Castle.  Perdita  was 
more  charming  than  ever,  struck  with  light  and  life  and 
color,  and  a  new  sweetness  that  emerged  from  within  her 
secret  self. 

It  was  no  time  for  delightful  dalliance;  the  stern  \ 
duties  of  inquisition  were  laid  on  us.  No  news  of 
Norroy  had  come  to  hand,  and  I  had  begun  to  grow 
anxious  myself.  The  village  was  seething  with  the 
"sensation,"  in  its  rustic  way,  and  it  certainly  looked 
like  developing  into  a  "job  for  the  detectives."  We 
discussed  the  disappearance  together  from  all  aspects, 
but  w^ere  able  to  arrive  no  farther  than  we  had  already 
done.  Only  one  thing  of  importance  I  had  discovered, 
and  that  was  the  handsome  face  of  Mr.  Naylor  in  the 
village.  He  had  taken  a  room  for  the  night  at  the 
"Feathers"  and  had  ordered  dinner  at  seven-thirty,^ 


236        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


as  I  learned  from  the  landlord;  having  learned  so 
much  I  had  left  resolved  to  return  in  time  for  that 
dinner.  I  was  able,  therefore,  to  give  the  council  some 
consolation  in  a  picked-up  clue.  More,  I  did  not  reveal 
at  the  time,  being  unwilling  to  raise  their  hopes  too 
high.  The  discussion  ceased  of  its  own  inertia  at  last, 
and  Mr.  Toosey  took  up  a  book  from  a  side  table.  I 
noticed  it  was  Bacon's  "Novum  Organum,"  just  as 
my  attention  was  called  off  by  Mrs.  Harvey. 

"I  say,"  said  Toosey,  breaking  in  suddenly  on  us, 
"is  this  authentic  or  is  it  a  fake.^" 

I  looked  over  at  him,  and  saw  he  had  the  title-page 
open  with  the  devices  which  I  have  mentioned. 

"Oh,  it's  genuine,"  said  I.  "Its  date  is  seventeen 
something." 

He  studied  it  for  some  minutes,  then  plumped  it  on 
the  table  excitedly. 

"It's  a  cipher  !"  he  pronounced. 

And  at  that  it  all  came  out,  and  I  had  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  secret  passage,  and  of  my  vain  exploration.  Upon 
the  top  of  this,  of  course,  I  must  needs  conduct  the 
party  to  the  gallery,  and  open  the  panel ;  and  candles 
were  employed  to  investigate  the  stairway.  I  believe 
Mrs.  Harvey  was  of  the  opinion  that  we  should  find 
Norroy  hidden  there.  I  had  managed  to  create  an  air 
of  confidence,  but  in  reality  I  was  far  from  feeling  it 
myself.  I  certainly  had  no  desperate  fears  for  Norroy, 
but  the  situation  puzzled,  even  dismayed  me.  The 
inherent  vitality  of  her  temperament  enabled  Miss 
Harvey  to  become  absorbed  in  the  new  pastime  of  hunt 
the  cipher.  In  company  with  Toosey  she  examined  all 
the  staircases  that  could  be  found  in  the  castle,  and, 
wearied  of  a  profitless  task,  I  left  them  to  the  amuse- 


The  Havana  Cigar  237 


ment  and  went  back  to  the  other  guests.  I  had  my 
reward  when  we  had  wandered  out  on  to  the  lawn,  and 
the  ever  blessed  Miss  Fuller  led  Mrs.  Harvey  away  to 
see  some  prettiness  in  the  garden. 

"Let  us  lose  them,  Perdita,"  I  implored. 

She  gave  me  her  sweet  shy  smile  and  said  nothing. 
It  was  an  answer  in  itself. 

"Let  me  hear  your  voice  all  to  myself,"  I  said,  taking 
her  hand.  "I  have  heard  it  babbling  chatter  with  the 
world.   Now  let  your  lover  hear  it  for  himself." 

Her  look,  still  shy  and  embarrassed,  pleaded  with  me. 
I  had  yet  to  realize  that  it  is  not  always  high  tide  in  a 
girl's  heart;  her  passion  ran  low;  she  watched  me  with 
sweet  diffident  eyes,  and  half  ashamed.  She  was 
troubled,  and  had  not  the  magnificent  confidence  of  her 
full  pulse  of  love.  Yet  under  my  gaze  and  the  clamor  of 
my  heart,  hers  began  to  expand.  I  saw  the  deep  and 
inner  founts  of  affection  stir  and  gush  and  tremble  in 
the  pools  of  her  eyes. 

Mrs.  Harvey  came  back.  ...  I  had  never  put  a 
question  to  my  love,  but  I  cared  not.  There  was  no 
need  of  question  and  answer  between  us.  An  instinct 
united  us.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Harvey  came  back,  and  declared 
that  she  must  go.  And  so  we  went  in,  and  found 
Mr.  Toosey  and  Christobel  poring  over  the  book  and 
arguing.  I  was  tired  of  the  cipher,  but  grateful  to  it. 
I  saw  them  go,  and  kissed  my  hand  to  the  car. 

My  trail  began  between  eight  and  nine  that  even- 
ing. I  picked  it  up  at  the  inn  as  I  had  hoped  to  do. 
And  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  remarkable  events 
which  I  have  now  to  set  forth. 

Elegant  with  almond  finger-nails,  and  the  white 
crescent  showing  large  at  the  base,  a  cigar  of  perfect 


238        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


fragrance,  and  his  languid  feminine  eyes,  Mr.  Nayloi 
passed  the  entrance  to  the  bar  parlor  of  the  "Feathers  " 
and  entered  his  private  sitting-room  at  seven-thirty. 
I  liked  it  better  that  he  was  alone;  for  if  Horne  had 
been  with  him,  I  should  have  had  misgivings  at  such  an 
open  association.  But  Naylor  had  the  room  to  himself 
and  dined  leisurely,  dow^n  to  his  liqueur,  which  the 
innkeeper  had  succeeded  in  producing  from  the  dust  of 
his  back  shelves.  As  for  me,  I  sat  and  chatted  gener- 
ously with  every  chance  comer  and,  incidentally,  drank 
more  spirit  than  I  had  a  fancy  for.  But  I  was  deter- 
mined to  stand  above  suspicion  and  to  be  there 
merely  on  pleasure.    And  thus  I  had  my  reward. 

It  was  after  half-past  eight  when  Naylor  moved. 
What  did  so  urban  a  man  in  this  outlandish  place? 
I  asked  myself.  My  host  thought  the  gentleman  was 
staying  overnight  only,  and  was  going  on  to  Plymouth 
on  the  morrow.  He  had  been  down  before,  he  said, 
and  fancied  the  place;  so  broke  his  journey  on  the 
way.  It  was  a  lame  tale  for  a  conspirator,  and  yet  the 
disturbing  part  of  it  was  that  it  might  be  exactly  true. 
He  might  very  well  have  come  for  a  walk  along  the  coast 
line  in  that  fine  summer  weather.  Travellers  take  a 
liking  to  some  village  met  in  their  itineraries,  and  come 
and  come  again.  But  I  knew  it  was  not  true.  Was 
Mr.  Naylor  going  forth  that  night  to  walk  coastwise  .^^ 
I  knew  him  better.  If  he  went  to  take  the  air  so  would 
I.   It  was  dusk  when  he  started. 

I  had  no  difficulty  in  keeping  him  in  view,  for  he  had 
no  suspicion  that  he  was  followed,  and  the  evening  was 
quite  light.  He  went  right  through  the  village,  stick  in 
hand,  and  sauntered  down  into  the  lane  that  ran  near 
the  estuary  towards  the  Point.   It  was  darkening  when 


The  Havana  Cigar  239 


we  reached  the  Point ;  seaward  the  sky  was  broken  into 
masses  of  clouds  and  some  fine  openings  of  gray  light. 
The  houses  of  the  fishermen  were  in  deep  shadow  and 
being  fast  involved  in  the  night.  Now  I  was  interested  in 
the  Point.  Its  population,  which  was  scanty,  seemed 
of  a  ruder,  bluffer  character  than  the  people  of  the  more 
civilized  Southington,  and  doubtless  had  the  qualities 
of  their  defects.  Moreover  the  inquiries  I  had  set  on 
foot  had  failed  to  trace  any  boat  out  of  Southington 
which  could  account  for  our  strange  visitors  at  the 
island.  There  were  several  places  from  which  a  sailing 
boat  might  have  reached  the  estuary,  but  the  Point 
was  that  which  offered  itself  as  the  likeliest  next  after 
our  village.  And  yet  no  information  of  any  boat  could 
be  obtained  there.  But  in  a  hamlet  which  was  devoted 
to  fishing  and  fishermen,  it  was  not  altogether  impossible 
that  the  destination  of  one  small  craft  might  escape 
notice.  Concealed  in  the  darkness  of  the  houses  I 
watched  Naylor.  His  actions  were  by  no  means  sus- 
picious. He  passed  the  huddle  of  cottages,  and  went 
out  to  the  rocks  which  formed  the  extremity  of  the 
hamlet,  and,  after  remaining  there  for  a  few  minutes  in 
apparent  admiration  of  the  night  scene,  he  retraced 
his  path  and  moved  westwards  along  the  foreshore, 
ultimately  turning  the  bluff  which  bounded  the  village. 
When  I  reached  this  he  was  some  hundred  yards  away, 
strolling  along  the  beach,  stick  in  hand,  and  leaving 
the  odor  of  his  excellent  Havana  behind  him. 

I  followed  warily,  and  at  varying  intervals  so  we 
continued  —  past  the  cliffs  and  the  caves,  past  the 
limits  of  the  Castle  grounds,  along  the  arc  of  the  shore 
for  a  mile  or  more.  The  beach  here  was  rough  with 
boulders  and  the  tide  was  well  out;  it  was  a  pleasant 


240        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


night,  and  I  almost  despaired  of  finding  that  we  had 
come  out  for  more  than  a  constitutional  by  the  wonder- 
ful sea.  We  had  got  more  than  half-way  across  the 
north  bight  that  curves  in  between  the  Point  and  the 
next  promontory,  when  suddenly  my  quarry  vanished. 
I  had  kept  close  enough  to  hold  him  in  observation  all 
the  time,  but  he  suddenly  disappeared.  I  hastened 
forward  to  catch  him  up,  but  as  that  did  not  bring  his 
figure  out  of  the  darkness,  I  dropped  again  into  a 
dignified  pace  and  continued  my  way  a  little  on  the 
sea  side  of  the  boulder. 

I  think  I  should  have  given  up  the  chase  altogether 
and  returned  in  chagrin  to  the  Castle  but  for  my  nose. 
I  have  a  strong  sense  of  smell,  and  now  through  the 
acrid  salt  savor  of  the  seaweed  and  all  sea  things, 
there  drifted  to  my  nostrils  the  scent  of  a  cigar.  I  did  not 
pause,  but  went  on,  yet  turned  my  head  and  looked 
upwards  towards  the  rocks  that  were  here  a  serried 
phalanx  on  the  margin  of  the  high- water  mark.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  could  make  out  dimly  a  figure 
seated  among  them.  I  should  not  have  suspected  it  for 
a  human  being,  had  it  not  been  for  that  fragrance  on 
the  air.  And  yet,  if  it  was  Naylor,  of  what  could  I 
suspect  him  ?  I  walked  on  some  three  hundred  yards 
farther  until  I  was  swallowed  up  in  the  night,  and  then, 
taking  a  leaf  out  of  his  book,  I  found  a  seat  among  the 
rocks  myself. 

I  waited  ten  minutes,  but  there  was  no  sign  —  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  I  descried  a  figure  moving 
below  down  on  the  beach.  I  got  up  cautiously,  and 
strode  off  towards  it,  keeping  it  only  as  an  undefined 
shape  that  melted  into  and  out  of  the  darkness.  I 
pursued  these  tactics  untU  at  last  I  plainly  saw  it 


The  Havana  Cigar 


241 


diagonally  cross  the  boulders  and  make  for  the  clifiF. 
I  followed,  and  presently  I  discovered  that  I  was 
ascending  an  easy  gradient  of  the  cliff  side. 

On  the  top  some  lights  were  visible  in  cottages,  and 
between  them  and  me  was  my  dark  j&gure.  It  paused 
for  a  moment  outside  one  of  the  houses,  and  (as  I  was 
much  closer  now)  when  the  door  opened,  the  light 
from  within  flashed  on  the  man's  face.  To  my  utter 
chagrin  it  was  not  Naylor.  The  door  shut,  and  I  had 
hardly  the  spirit  to  approach  and  examine  the  house. 
But  I  did  so,  and  thought  I  could  make  out  a  faint 
illegible  sign-board  above  the  door.  Apparently  it  was 
a  roadside  inn ;  and  before  me  stretched  a  winding  road 
which  moved  eastward  somewhere,  I  took  it,  in  the 
direction  of  the  estuary. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  now  but  to  go  back,  and  I 
did  so  with  bitter  disappointment.  I  had  lost  my  man, 
and  apparently  he  had  been  bent  on  nothing  more  offen- 
sive than  a  nocturnal  ramble  by  the  sea.  I  strode  back 
along  the  shore  at  a  faster  rate,  resolved  to  give  up  my 
quest  for  the  night  at  any  rate  and  wondering  why  I  had 
thought  myself  a  smart  detective.  In  the  midst  of  these 
thoughts  I  came  face  to  face  with  Naylor,  and  apologized 
almost  before  I  had  recognized  him  by  the  cock  of  his 
hat.  He  answered  civilly,  and  continued  on  his  way, 
as  I  on  mine.  But  the  encounter  led  me  into  a  new 
train  of  ideas.  Why  was  a  shady  financial  agent  anxious 
to  spend  an  hour  in  commune  with  his  own  soul  by  the 
sea,  remote  from  human  habitation  ?  It  did  not  strike 
me  as  in  keeping,  unless  he  were  contemplating  suicide. 

Yet  after  my  former  failure  I  dared  not  turn  and 
follow.  He  had  already  merged  in  the  night.  I  stood 
and  considered.   In  a  flash  I  had  an  inspiration.  The 

16 


242        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


man's  face  at  the  window  had  been  vaguely  familiar  to 
me ;  now  I  recalled  it.  He  was  the  tall  dark  fisherman 
I  had  seen  once  in  conversation  with  Home  on  the  sea- 
front.  But  what  of  that,  you  say  ?  Nothing,  save  that 
I  harbored  a  brood  of  suspicions.  If  Naylor  suspected 
that  he  was  followed,  he  had  effectively  dodged  me  by 
his  ruse.  What  if  he  had  been  on  his  way  to  keep  an 
appointment  with  the  fisherman  ?  What  fisherman 
would  go  for  his  evening  glass  to  an  inn  so  inaccessible, 
when  there  was  Southington  so  handy?  Through 
Home  the  connection  was  easily  obtained.  I  paused, 
I  wondered,  I  doubted,  and  I  tumed.  After  all  my 
failure  could  not  be  more  complete  than  it  had  been. 

But  I  was  in  no  mood  to  risk  discovery  this  time.  If 
Naylor  were  on  his  way  to  a  meeting  he  would  arrive  at 
the  inn  eventually.  Knowing,  then,  his  presumed 
destination,  I  was  not  at  the  necessity  of  tracking  him. 
I  could  go  direct  to  the  tavern  myself.  I  stmck  over  the 
rocks  towards  the  cliffs,  which  fortunately  here  de- 
scended very  low,  and  I  was  soon  at  the  top.  There- 
after I  made  off  across  the  fields  in  the  direction  of  the 
cottages,  which  I  reached  after  some  blundering  in  the 
darkness. 

The  inn  door  was  shut,  but  there  was  still  a  light  in 
the  window.  If  Naylor  had  been  going  there  he  must 
have  arrived  before  me.  I  went  round  to  the  back  of 
the  house,  but  all  the  blinds  were  drawn.  I  managed  to 
see  the  time  by  the  light  from  a  window,  and  found  it 
was  just  ten.  At  ten  I  knew  all  licensed  houses  close 
and  the  guests  must  turn  out.  I  should,  therefore,  have 
only  a  few  minutes  to  wait  in  order  to  solve  my  problem. 

I  waited  until  the  inn  disgorged,  and  stood  in  the 
shadows  to  observe  the  men  as  they  came  out.  The 


The  Havana  Cigar  243 


dark  fisherman  was  not  one  of  them.  I  had  been  a  fool, 
then,  for  all  my  pains,  and  I  had  only  a  dreary  and 
empty  tramp  back  before  me.  As  I  was  turning  away, 
a  shadow  on  the  blind  arrested  me.  It  was  the  figure  of 
a  man,  but  there  was  nothing  in  that,  nothing  save  that 
it  stooped  over  the  lamp  obscuring  it  for  a  moment,  as 
if  he  had  bent  to  light  his  pipe.  And  then  there  travelled 
slowly  to  my  nostrils  the  remembered  fragrance  of  a 
fine  Havana  cigar ! 

I  thrilled.  Naylor  was  here  then,  and  I  had  been  right 
after  all.  Of  course  he  could  stay  as  long  as  he  liked 
after  licensed  hours  by  the  simple  expedient  of  hiring  a 
bedroom.  If  he  had  done  that,  it  showed  me  clearer 
than  ever  that  I  was  on  the  right  tack.  If  he  had  hired 
a  room  to  discourse  with  a  confederate  — ! 

I  waited  quite  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  then  the 
door  opened,  emitting  no  other  than  Naylor.  There 
was  exchange  of  talk  between  him  and  a  man  within, 
and  I  gathered  that  he  had  engaged  a  trap  to  drive  him. 
If  so  I  had  lost  him  again.  But  there  still  remained  the 
dark  fisherman ;  of  that  I  was  now  sure. 

From  my  hiding-place  I  watched  Naylor  drive  off 
along  the  road  to  the  estuary  and  soon  afterwards  the 
other  man  emerged.  He  did  not  hesitate,  but  struck  off 
down  the  cliff  to  the  beach,  and  I  was  on  his  trail  like  a 
hound  upon  the  fox's.  I  would  not  lose  him  at  any 
rate. 

No  doubt,  if  they  ever  had  supposed  they  were 
followed,  they  had  been  deluded  by  my  return  into  a 
false  security.  And  so  the  fisherman  stalked  through  the 
night  carelessly  and  without  any  concern  for  spies. 
We  walked  by  the  low  water  where  the  sand  was  hard 
and  wet,  and  the  night  winds  blew  in  our  faces  briskly. 


244        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


and  we  crossed  the  bight  again  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  cliff  and  the  cavern.  Just  here  the  man  took  a 
slanting  path  upwards  to  the  rocks,  and  b^an  to  cross 
them  to  the  door  of  the  cave.  I  succeeded  in  still 
retaining  my  view  of  him,  until,  finally,  he  vanished  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern.  I  approached  nearer,  and 
waited  and  listened;  and  then  a  light  flashed  up  and 
moved  in  the  air;  then  that  disappeared.  I  went 
forward  stealthily  till  I  had  reached  the  entrance,  and 
peered  in.  I  advanced  into  the  outer  cavern  and  looked 
through  into  the  inner;  a  faint  light,  the  reflection  as 
it  were  of  a  glow,  a  diffusion  of  luminosity  in  the 
interior  air  was  appreciated  by  my  eyes  newly  out  of  the 
blindness  of  the  night.  Somewhere  within  was  the  man 
with  his  lantern.  My  legs  came  to  a  standstill,  but 
mentally  I  went  on  with  a  huge  impetuous  rush.  I 
had  made  a  discovery.  The  caves  assumed  new  light, 
new  proportions.  I  began  to  see  that  the  solution  lay 
here.  But  what  was  it.^  And  in  what  manner  was 
Norroy  involved  in  it?  The  glow  died  out  and  left 
pitch  darkness.  I  deliberated  long  as  I  turned  back. 
The  caves  demanded  exploration. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  SECKET  OF  THE  CAVES 

1ROSE  on  the  following  morning  with  my  mind  full 
of  my  project,  and  at  one  time  I  thought  of  inviting 
Toosey's  assistance.  But  the  time  was  hardly  ripe  for 
that.  I  must  make  a  preliminary  reconnoitre  first. 
This  I  succeeded  in  doing  before  midday. 

I  descended  on  the  foreshore  by  the  wicket  gate  in 
the  Castle  grounds,  and  was  soon  on  the  beach  among 
the  rocks.  The  tide  was  out  once  more,  and  the  cave 
easy  of  access.  I  had  furnished  myself  with  a  hurri- 
cane lamp  and  a  generous  store  of  matches;  and  I 
entered  the  outer  shell,  the  ear  of  the  cavern,  as  it  were, 
in  which  all  the  sounds  of  the  external  world  drummed 
and  echoed,  with  sensible  excitement  and  expectation. 
Having  lighted  my  lamp  I  turned  into  the  interior 
cavity,  and  pushed  on  to  the  bottom  of  that.  Here  a 
passage  in  the  rocky  way  gave  entrance  to  a  third 
chamber,  an  ample  and  lofty  vault,  dripping  to  the 
eye  and  dank  to  the  nostril.  Out  of  this  again  a  defile 
led  into  still  further  caverns,  and  I  was  on  the  point  of 
passing  through  this  when  I  noticed  another  opening 
a  little  to  my  left.  I  swung  the  lamp  on  it,  and  discov- 
ered that  it  also  led  off,  but  in  another  direction.  I 
went  through  the  first  opening,  and  found  at  the  base 
of  this  fourth  cavern  a  gallery  leading  on  apparently 
indefinitely.  I  came  back  and  tried  the  second  opening, 
and  here  again  I  made  acquaintance  with  a  gallery. 


246         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


What  is  more,  I  counted  three  openings  out  of  it  in  the 
space  of  twelve  yards.  Once  more  I  retraced  my  way 
and  returned  to  the  first  gallery.  The  same  phenome- 
non was  here  repeated.  Numerous  openings  in  the 
solid  rock  testified  to  the  ramifications  of  the  passages. 
The  whole  place  was  evidently  burrowed  like  a  rabbit 
warren.  I  felt  that  I  needed  better  assistance  than  my 
memory  if  I  was  to  attempt  to  solve  the  secret  of  this 
subterranean  hold;  and  so  reluctantly  I  resought  the 
light  of  day. 

It  was  now  quite  clear  to  what  use  these  caverns  had 
been  put  in  older  days.  They  had  formed  the  hold  of 
the  Freetraders,  and  their  ramifications  had,  doubtless, 
been  of  service  to  them  in  their  continuous  war  with  the 
revenue  authorities.  The  place  was  a  nexus  of  pas- 
sages, perhaps  intercommunicating,  and  possibly  lead- 
ing to  a  central  warehouse,  which  would  thus  defy  the 
unravelling  of  any  one  save  the  initiated.  I  judged 
that  this  subterranean  cellarage  was  mainly  natural, 
but  probably  connections  had  been  also  artificially 
made.  Certainly,  I  must  consider  further  before  I 
became  involved  in  that  honeycomb. 

By  the  time  I  reached  the  Castle  again,  it  was  nearly 
one  o'clock,  and  I  lunched  hastily  in  order  to  get  down 
into  Southington  in  good  time.  I  had  only  just  finished 
when  Mr.  Toosey  appeared.  He  had  been  sent  for  by 
the  Harveys,  and  had  been  over  to  their  hotel  in  refer- 
ence to  the  disappearance  of  Norroy.  I  now  learned 
that  Mrs.  Harvey  was  increasingly  anxious  to  engage 
the  services  of  a  detective,  and  I  wrote  out  a  lengthy 
telegram  for  despatch  to  her  to  prevent  this.  may 
have  important  news  by  to-morrow.  If  not,  then  au- 
thorize professional  help,"  I  wired  to  her. 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves  247 


I  said  nothing  of  what  I  expected,  or  of  how  I  ex- 
pected it;  for,  to  say  the  truth,  I  took  a  little  human 
satisfaction  in  the  mystery  of  my  clue.  Not  even  to 
Toosey  did  I  mention  details,  but  I  gave  him  a  mission 
which  pleased  him.  I  suggested  that  he  should  paint 
out-of-doors,  and  at  the  Point,  moreover;  and  I  gave 
him  a  description  of  the  man  I  wanted  him  to  observe. 
He  took  to  the  work  as  a  duck  to  water,  and  gave  me 
an  elaborate  explanation  of  his  plans  for  avoiding  curios- 
ity. He  would  choose  his  subject  carefully,  prospect- 
ing every  foot  of  the  hamlet,  and  he  would  prove  a  fool, 
he  thought,  if  he  did  not  ultimately  fetch  up  in  front 
of  this  particular  fisherman's  cottage.  That  accom- 
plished, Toosey's  eagle  eye  would  be  on  the  sinister 
man. 

I  did  not  doubt  his  capacity  to  put  so  easy  a  plan 
into  execution ;  as  an  artist  no  one  would  question  his 
bona  fides.  And  it  would  serve  me  to  have  the  con- 
federate under  supervision  all  the  afternoon.  For,  you 
see,  I  had  realized  that  it  was  impracticable  to  make 
my  second  essay  at  exploration  until  the  tide  served 
again  —  which  would  not  be  till  near  dark.  Until 
after  eight  I  was  perforce  idle.  And,  lacking  the  oppor- 
tunity to  be  useful,  I  took  the  opportunity  to  be  happy. 
In  other  words,  I  spent  a  couple  of  hours  at  Southing- 
ton.  Of  course,  I  had  a  good  excuse  in  reporting  prog- 
ress, if  I  wanted  one;  but  I  did  not.  I  entered  Mrs. 
Lane's  as  a  right,  and,  the  discreet  Isabel  being  absent, 
I  held  out  my  arms.    Perdita  shook  her  head,  smiling. 

"We  live  in  the  daylight,"  she  remonstrated,  when  I 
paid  no  heed  to  this. 

"Light  or  dark,  rain  or  shine,  sun  or  snow,  I  care 
not,"  I  said  defiantly.   "All  the  world  is  one  to  me,  and 


248         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


all  weathers  are  the  same,  provided  I  have  Perdita, 
All  tragedies  are  comedies,  and  there  is  no  space  nor 
time,  while  I  have  Perdita.  There  is  only  just  so  much 
space  as  is  spanned  by  Perdita,  and  only  just  so  much 
time  to  kiss  her.  The  only  time  that  time  gallops  is 
when  I  do  that.    Otherwise  it  stands  still." 

"You  spe^ik,"  said  Perdita,  rosy  warm,  ''as  if  you 
had  often  done  it.  You  have  only  done  it  once  — 
twice." 

"One  hundred  million  times  in  my  heart,"  I  said, 
"and  since  it  is  only  twice  in  sad  fact,  why  I  must  make 
a  beginning  in  earnest." 

Perdita  retreated  almost  to  the  door  of  that  room 
into  which  she  had  once  thrust  me,  her  own  sweet  per- 
sonal chamber,  wherein  she  was  wont  to  dream  sweet 
dreams  and  live  her  girlish  fancies. 

"You  want  to  see  Isabel.^"  she  said.  "I  will  call 
her." 

"If  you  call  Isabel,"  I  retorted,  "I  will  box  her  ears. 
I  will  take  her  and  push  her  out  of  the  room.  I  will 
use  awful  language  such  as  she  will  scream  and  rush 
from.    And  I  know  awful  words  !" 

Perdita  had  her  back  to  the  door  of  her  room,  and 
she  laughed,  her  hand  behmd  her  on  the  handle  to  pre- 
vent surprises. 

"It 's  time  I  was  getting  on  with  my  shopping,"  she 
said  demurely.    "It 's  my  turn  to  shop  to-day." 

"Thank  goodness,  I  know"  what  it  is  to  be  a  man," 
I  said  heartily,  "and  to  abound  and  rejoice  in  physical 
strength.  Let  me  warn  you,  beloved,  that  no  girl  is  a 
match  for  a  brutal  man  with  arms  like  brawn  and  a 
determination  like  iron.  No  one  shall  go  forth  from 
this  room  except  at  my  pleasure." 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves  249 


Perdita  slipped  into  her  own  room  and  closed  the 
door.    I  was  alone. 

I  cried,  I  pleaded,  I  begged,  I  humbled  myself  — 
and  she  was  adamant.  Then  I  told  her  through  the 
keyhole  my  opinion  of  women,  their  fickleness,  their 
deceit,  their  treachery,  and  their  vanity. 

"You  have  only  gone  to  beautify  yourself  more,"  I 
said  sarcastically.  "But  you  can't,  you  know  you 
can't.  That 's  the  joke.  Oh,  my  Perdita  is  my  vain 
thing;  she  thinks  to  gild  the  lily  and  to  paint  the 
rose." 

Perdita  was  offended  at  this.  "I  have  never  used  a 
cosmetic  in  my  life,"  she  said  primly  when  she  had  re- 
turned, pretending  that  she  had  not  run  from  me  and 
had  not  heard  me,  and  that  she  really  wondered  to 
find  me  there. 

"I  thought  it  was  time  you  went,"  she  said  austerely. 
"Isabel  is  out  just  now." 

Oh,  I  won't  recall  the  word  I  used  in  connection  with 
Isabel,  but  Perdita  was  not  really  shocked.  She  said 
she  was,  but  it  has  always  been  my  secret  belief  that 
Perdita  was  sometimes  a  humbug.  Yet  when  Isabel 
did  come,  she  brought  me  news  that  Mr.  Toosey  was 
looking  for  me  in  the  village.  He  had  been  to  the 
Castle  and  not  found  me.  Now,  how  on  earth  did  he 
know  that  I  was  at  Mrs.  Lane's  ? 

Mr.  Toosey's  report  brought  me  back  to  dull  earth. 
He  had  identified  the  man  I  had  described,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  choosing  his  cottage  as  a  "pitch,"  and  had 
kept  him  under  observation  until  the  man  had  put  to 
sea  after  his  midday  meal.  So  far  good ;  if  he  had  gone 
I  should  be  the  safer  from  surveillance  in  my  expedi- 
tion.  I  went  back  to  Mrs.  Lane's,  but  the  ladies  were 


250        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


dressing  to  go  out,  and  I  got  no  consideration  whatso^ 
ever  from  Perdita.  I  was  not  to  attend  them  I  waS 
told;  they  were  on  purely  private  affairs  connected 
ivith  the  house.  She  challenged  me  with  her  glances, 
and  I  insisted  on  accompanying  them,  which  I  success- 
fully accomplished  without  further  protest. 

I  liked  shopping  with  Perdita ;  there  was  something 
indefinably  intimate  in  it,  for  presently  Miss  Puller 
discovered  business  at  a  cottage  on  the  hill,  and  im- 
posed the  task  upon  us.  I  watched  Perdita  while  she 
bought  soap  and  candles  and  sugar,  and  offered  her 
ndvice  on  sundry  household  purchases.  But  unhap- 
pily she  did  not  seem  to  have  much  opinion  of  my 
opinion;  she  steadily  ignored  it. 

"We  '11  change  all  that,  my  lady,  when  you  're  my 
wife,"  I  whispered  threateningly  in  her  ear.  It  grew 
pink  like  the  petal  of  a  pink  rose,  and  she  hurriedly 
talked  to  the  shop  woman. 

"And  may  I  have  a  bar  of  tea,  please,*'  said  silly 
Perdita.  Then,  her  confusion  worse  confounded,  she 
grew  redder,  and,  when  we  had  got  outside  safely, 
declared  she  was  going  home.  Alas,  it  was  time  for  me 
also  to  go  home  to  make  my  preparations. 

"Perdita!"  said  I,  solemnly,  when  we  paused  to 
part,  "I  have  suddenly  remembered  something.  I've 
never  formally  asked  for  your  hand.  When  may  I 
come  and  do  it  ?  It 's  rather  important."  She  only 
looked;  she  did  not  answer.  I  don't  somehow  think 
;she  could  answer  just  then. 

"And  you 've  never  called  me  anything,"  I  went  on. 
Never,  never  anything.  Now  I  must  be  called 
something." 

*M  —  I  don't  know  what  to  call  you,"  stammered 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves 


251 


Perdita.  And  the  dear  heart,  I  had  not  reflected,  did 
not,  of  course,  know  I  was  Richard.    I  told  her. 

"Never  mind,"  I  added.  "That  will  keep  until  I 
have  formally  asked  for  your  hand,  which  I  propose  to 
do  —  let  me  see  —  to-morrow.  Heavens,  how  terrible 
a  sweetness  there  is  in  living  in  suspense !  But  as  you 
must  call  me  something,  and  must  n't  call  me  Dick 
yet,  suppose  you  call  me  dearest." 

"Oh!"  protested  Perdita,  aflame. 

"Very  well,  beloved,"  said  I,  "I  am  going  hence, 
and  Heaven  only  knows  when  you  will  see  me  again. 
I  am  going  on  a  desperate  venture."  My  Perdita 
opened  her  eyes  largely.  "I 'm  plunging  into  unknown 
risks  and  hazards."   Perdita's  face  fell. 

"What  —  what  are  you  going  to  do.^^"  she  asked 
anxiously.  I  loved  to  see  that  anxiety  resident  there  — 
for  me. 

"I 'm  going  to  follow  up  a  clue,"  I  said;  and  so  I 
told  her,  and  she  was  the  only  one  who  knew. 

Perdita  blanched.  "But  what  —  what  —  "  she 
paused.    "Oh,  isn't  there  danger.^"  she  asked. 

I  shook  my  head.  I  was  charged  with  confidence 
then,  and  would  not  have  called  the  king  my  cousin. 
Before  me  Fate  spread  her  lures  in  vain.  From  my 
height  I  looked  down  upon  a  less  fortunate  world ;  and 
no  intervention  could  bar  my  way  to  happiness. 

"  But  what  do  you  expect  to  find  there  ?  "  said  Perdita, 
with  awe  in  her  voice. 

"I  shall  find  the  secret  wiiich  has  been  puzzling  us," 
I  said  confidently.  "If  it  is  anywhere,  it  is  there.  I 
am  not  afraid  for  Norroy.  There 's  nothing  tragic 
about  it  all,  but  only  something  dishonest.  Those 
caves,  my  dear,  were  used  for  contraband  a  hundred 


"252         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

years  ago;  I  believe  they  are  used  for  contraband  to- 
day, but  miitatis  mutandis.  That 's  all.  And  you  and 
I  shall  speed  like  fairy  princess  and  prince  to  release 
the  hapless  victim." 

"Do  you  think  he  can  be  there she  asked 
breathlessly. 

I  think  I  shall  know  about  it  when  I  have  been 
there,"  I  answered. 

She  drew  a  deep  breath,  and  contemplated  me  with 
triumphing  ardor.  I  think,  though  she  said  nothing 
but  with  those  eyes,  she  was  glad  that  her  lover  was  so 
brave  and  noble.  x\h,  dear  heart,  I  have  never  done 
an}i:hing  brave  or  noble  in  my  frivolous  life,  but  now 
I  know  I  could  face  death  and  torture  and  eternal  ruin 
for  the  sake  of  one  woman.  I  was  proud  to  seem  a 
hero  in  those  pretty  eyes,  though  I  was  half  ashamed  at 
the  false  pretences.  I  was  only  visiting  an  interesting 
cavern.  We  step  out  uix)n  our  most  fateful  journeys  un- 
awares; we  turn  the  corners  light-heartedly  to  tragedy. 

Perdita  laid  a  hand  upon  my  arm,  pleading  with  me 
with  that  instinct  magic  of  understanding  that  had 
come  to  pass  between  us.  '*You  must  not  nm  into 
danger.  You  must  not  come  to  harm,  .  .  .  dearest," 
she  said  in  a  low  tense  voice. 

If  it  had  not  been  the  road  I  would  have  caught  her 
up  in  my  arms.  But  I  could  only  control  myself  and 
speak  through  my  gaze,  which  devoured  that  vision 
of  loveliness.  There  was  some  strange  chord  that 
bound  us;  words  could  say  no  more  between  us  just 
then.  I  turned  and  left  her,  and,  looking  back  at  the 
comer  of  the  square,  I  saw  her  looking  back  also. 

I  nearly  rushed  into  the  arms  of  Miss  Fuller,  as  she 
came  up  the  street,  laden  with  parcels. 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves  25S 


Radiantly,  I  was  going  by  with  a  significant  smile  for 
her,  when  she  stopped  as  if  to  address  me,  and  some 
of  her  packages  were  scattered  on  the  road.  I  stooped* 
to  pick  them  up,  mysterious  long  "drapery"  things^, 
some  mustard  that  had  broken  its  bonds,  and  pepper 
that  set  Miss  Fuller  sneezing. 

"Atchewl"  she  sneezed,  and  another  package  fell.. 
It  was  a  bulky  envelope  for  which  she  had  evidently 
called  at  the  post-office,  and  the  flimsy  paper  had 
frayed  and  broken,  so  that  part  of  its  contents  slipped 
out  in  the  dust.  I  gathered  them  up  while  Isabel  con- 
tinued her  sneezing,  and  as  I  did  so  I  could  not  but  see 
the  inscription  on  the  packet  and  the  contents.  It  was 
addressed  to  Miss  Fuller  at  Mrs.  Lane's,  bore  a  London 
postmark,  and  it  held,  apparently,  several  letters  ad- 
dressed to  Miss  Rivers.  I  stacked  them  all  carefully 
in  Isabel's  arms  and  dismissed  her  with  my  blessing. 

"Go  back,  dear  lady,"  I  said,  "and  tell  the  most 
beautiful  woman  you  chance  to  see  that  you  met  one 
walking  with  his  head  in  air,  and  that  he  upset  all  your 
parcels  thereby,  and  spilt  the  pepper  in  the  gutter ;  and 
say  that  if  he  were  walking  to  perdition  he  would  still 
walk  with  his  head  in  air  and  perish  happily  ever 
afterwards." 

"It's  nonsense,  you  know,"  said  Isabel,  laughing 
nervously  and  pleasantly,  "but  I  know  what  you  mean. 
I 'm  so  glad." 

All  the  world  was  glad.  I  strolled  up  the  deep-sunk 
lane  to  the  Castle  the  gladdest  of  ail,  listening  to  the 
birds.  It  was  already  that  hour  in  late  afternoon  when 
they  are  contemplating  the  evening  concert.  Ah !  I 
sighed  to  think  that  no  nightingale  ever  poured  out  his 
passionate  full  heart  in  Devon.   Other  birds  may  make^ 


254         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


musical  the  countryside,  but  never  sad  Philomel.  Th^ 
blackbird  sang  with  rich  melody,  the  thrush  scattered 
his  song  with  reckless  largess,  the  wren  was  like  fire- 
works in  the  hedge,  and  the  voice  of  the  unseen  willow- 
warbler  drifted  out  of  the  trees  like  a  plaintive  ghost 
that  sings  as  it  fades  away.  But  no  nightingale  sang  to 
any  rose  by  Devon  lanes  and  Devon  gardens.  No ;  in 
Devon  the  nightingale's  song  is  in  the  lover's  heart. 

Mr.  Toosey  had  embarrassed  Mrs.  Jackman  during 
my  absence  by  his  researches  in  the  Castle;  he  had 
politely  insisted  on  exploring  the  precincts  of  the  kitchen 
for  a  solution  of  the  hypothetical  cipher  in  the  "Novum 
Organum  " ;  and  to  Mrs.  Jackman's  obvious  distress 
he  had  imagined  he  had  discovered  it  in  her  bedroom. 
I  had  dinner  with  him,  and,  if  he  had  not  been  so  crack- 
brained  and  volatile  of  mind,  I  should  have  invited  him 
to  join  me  on  my  adventure.  It  was  just  a  toss-up,  as 
the  saying  is,  that  I  did  not.  On  so  little  does  so  much 
depend.  I  left  the  Castle  towards  dark  alone,  but 
armed  with  several  adjuncts. 

The  tide  was  running  well  out,  and  when  I  gained 
the  beach  in  front  of  the  cave  not  a  soul  was  in  sight. 
Only  far  out  a  single  sail  moved  like  a  dot  on  the  great 
<^hanneL  I  lit  my  lamp  in  the  first  cave,  proceeded 
through  the  second  into  the  third  without  hesitation; 
and  then  my  new  experiment  opened.  I  had  brought 
with,  me  several  balls  of  strong  thin  twine,  and  the  end 
of  one  of  these  I  made  fast  to  a  projecting  point  of  rock; 
then  with  the  hurricane  lamp  throwing  a  light  before  me 
I  plunged  cheerfully  down  one  of  the  corridors  to  which 
I  have  referred  in  a  previous  chapter. 

I  had  selected  the  passage  at  random,  for  there  was 
nothing  to  guide  me  in  my  choice;  and  now  I  must 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves  255 


pick  one  of  the  channels  that  led  off  it  by  the  same 
guesswork.  The  first  I  entered  in  a  very  short  time 
proved  a  blind  alley,  and  I  retraced  my  way  to  make 
trial  of  another.  This  conducted  me  for  some  distance 
and  then  branched  into  two,  one  of  which  I  was  obliged 
to  take  in  preference  to  the  other.  Again,  I  had  the  same 
alternative  forced  upon  me;  and  then  half  a  dozen 
openings  were  offered  to  me.  At  least  four  or  five 
times  I  chose  at  haphazard,  ever  trailing  my  thread 
behind  me  through  the  darkness,  until  I  fancied  I 
had  penetrated  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  m 
these  intestine  alleys.  That  was  so  far  as  distance  wa» 
concerned,  for  I  had  not  been  able  to  keep  count  of 
direction,  and  I  had  not  a  guess  where  I  was  in  relation 
to  the  sea.  Immediately,  upon  that,  I  arrived  in  a  cave 
of  large  area,  which  I  was  only  able  to  illumine  faintly 
with  my  lantern. 

I  threw  up  the  light  to  the  vault  above,  which  was: 
some  fifteen  feet  high,  and,  travelling  slowly  round  the 
walls  of  the  cavern,  I  reckoned  its  diameter  at  some- 
thing like  thirty  feet.  I  made  a  careful  examination  of 
this  chamber,  and  in  one  place  found  some  old  decay- 
ing casks,  and  other  debris,  which  suggested  that  the 
vault  had  been  used  in  other  days  as  a  storage  cellar  by 
the  smugglers.  This  seemed  to  indicate  that  there 
was  a  nearer  passage  between  it  and  the  sea;  for  I 
could  not  believe  that  those  erratic  and  tedious  ramifi- 
cations had  been  utilized  for  the  difficult  transport  of 
goods.  And  this  indication  was  endorsed  by  the  num- 
ber of  holes  which  led  out  of  the  vault.  Indeed,  so 
numerous  were  they,  that  it  is  not  exaggerating  to  say 
that  the  walls  were  riddled  with  holes.  Avenues  seemed 
to  converge  on  that  central  warehouse  from  all  quarters. 


256        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


though  whether  they  intercommunicated  and  flowed 
subsequently  in  one  ampler  channel  I  could  not  say. 

So  far  my  quest  had  met  with  no  reward,  save  the 
relics  of  an  interesting  history.  But  after  all,  my  con- 
cern was  in  no  way  with  the  dead  freebooters  of  a  past 
civilization.  And  when  I  looked  at  those  burrows  my 
heart  misgave  me.  I  was  standing  in  the  arena  in  con- 
sideration, when  my  eye  was  caught  by  a  mark  on  the 
floor.  This  was  of  sand,  dry  and  dusty,  and  evidently  a 
superficial  carpet  to  the  deeper  rock.  The  marks  that 
arrested  me  were  uniform  lines  ploughed  two  inches 
deep,  and  extending  across  the  cavern.  I  put  my  lantern 
to  the  ground  and  traced  them.  They  went  right 
through  the  chamber  and  disappeared  into  a  burrow. 
I  came  back,  tracked  them  in  the  other  direction  and 
saw  them  slip  into  a  burrow  on  the  other  side.  The 
vault  then  was  intermediate  in  a  road  of  traffic  which 
led  from  somewhere  beyond  to  what  must  be  the 
entrance  to  the  whole  nest  of  subterranean  galleries. 
The  marks  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  sunk  by  a 
wheel. 

I  was  bent  over  them,  lost  in  thought,  when  there 
came  to  my  ears  a  rumbling  sound,  a  hollow  echo  as 
of  a  human  voice.  Instinctively,  I  put  out  the  lantern 
and  crept  towards  the  sheltering  darkness  of  the  walls. 
It  was  as  well  I  did  so,  for  out  of  a  burrow  on  one  side  a 
spreading  light  emerged,  flinging  strange  shadows  the 
length  of  the  vault;  and,  presently,  I  made  out  the 
figure  of  a  man  from  which  the  light  swung.  It  was 
short  and  crabbed,  bow-legged  and  squat,  but  of  as- 
tonishing breadth ;  it  walked  like  a  beetle,  the  lantern 
creaking  as  it  went,  and  throwing  grotesques  upon  the 
walls  and  on  the  floor.    Slowly  it  passed  across  and 


The  Secret  of  the  Caves  257 


disappeared  into  one  of  the  holes,  and  the  light  died 
away. 

Stealthily  I  relit  my  own  lantern  and  followed  the 
direction  of  this  curious  creature  to  its  point  of  disap- 
pearance. Then  I  came  back.  I  was  not  sure  what  I 
ought  to  do.  Should  I  pursue  the  beetle  and  see  what 
the  pursuit  brought?  Or  should  I  proceed  with  the 
investigation  I  had  already  begun  into  the  wheel- 
marks?  A  vague  thought  that  these  galleries  might 
be  the  home  of  a  gang  of  coiners,  or  even  of  illicit  dis- 
tillers, flashed  through  my  mind.  Whoever  they  were, 
it  was  my  bounden  duty  to  follow  up  my  discoveries. 
I  retraced  the  wheel-marks,  and  to  my  surprise  and 
satisfaction,  I  found  that  they  came  out  of  the  opening 
from  which  the  dwarf  had  entered.  I  immediately 
made  my  decision.   I  would  explore  that  way. 

I  had  no  difficulty  now  in  guiding  myself  by  these 
signs  of  human  handiwork.  My  lantern  showed  them 
to  me  plainly  on  the  sandy  floor ;  and  I  passed  several 
openings  without  pausing  to  regard  or  consider  them. 
Finally,  I  struck  into  another  cave,  but  one  of  smaller 
size  than  the  vault  I  had  left,  and  here  I  came  to  an 
abrupt  stop.  For  right  in  the  centre  of  my  path  was  a 
pickaxe  lying  on  a  heap  of  stones. 

I  drew  nearer,  bent  over  it  and  scrutinized  it  carefully. 
The  stones  were  of  different  sizes,  some  being  jagged 
pieces  of  rock.  My  mind  was  bewildered  but  eager; 
and  my  gaze  wandering  farther  round  lighted  now  upon 
a  wheelbarrow.  Here  was  evidently  the  explanation 
of  the  marks  I  had  been  following.  I  stared  farther 
still,  and  the  light  threw  up  dimly  a  second  heap  of 
stones.  What  was  it  ?  I  stooped  again,  and  picked  up 
one  in  my  hand ;  it  weighed  like  lead.   I  am  no  geolo- 

17 


258        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

gist  and  no  man  of  science.  Least  of  all  am  I  a  met- 
allurgist. Yet  to  me  that  stone  spoke  somehow  of 
metal.  I  put  it  up  right  into  the  eye  of  the  light,  which 
gleamed  on  a  clean  exposed  face.  I  uttered  an  ex- 
clamation. The  secret  was  out.  I  held  in  my  hand  a 
lump  of  exceedingly  rich  copper  ore. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  LABYRINTH 


WITH  the  key  in  my  hand  the  whole  of  the  mys- 
tery was  easy  to  unlock.  I  saw  now  the  course 
of  this  deep  conspiracy  and,  behold,  it  was  very  simple. 
Facts  and  events  fell  into  their  place  appositely,  when 
once  I  realized  for  what  these  scoundrels  had  been 
playing.  The  discovery  of  the  copper  lead  in  the  sub- 
terranean passages  was  the  initial  event,  and  it  was  a 
short  step  thence  to  the  plot,  which  was  designed  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  mine  surreptitiously.  For  this 
purpose  it  was  necessary  that  the  owner  of  the  estate 
under  which  the  treasure  lay  should  be  kept  in  igno- 
rance. An  attempt,  therefore,  had  been  made  by  Naylor 
to  purchase  the  Castle  property,  but  this  had  been  foiled 
by  Norroy's  dogged  tenacity  in  the  face  of  adversity. 
After  this  failure  more  diplomatic  and  less  comfortable 
means  were  employed.  The  young  baronet  had  lived 
beyond  his  income  and  was  known  to  be  in  difficulties ; 
it  was  easy  to  buy  up  debts,  of  which  his  genuine  cred- 
itors must  have  begun  to  despair.  And  so  Mr.  Home 
is  in  possession  of  the  requisite  lever  and  proceeds  to 
apply  it.  This  covert  mean-looking  little  commission 
agent  was  "in  the  deal"  with  the  aristocratic  financier 
with  a  shady  record.  If  this  pretty  pair  can  force  Sir 
Gilbert  Norroy  into  the  bankruptcy  court  the  Castle  is 
theirs  for  an  upshot  price  —  and  with  the  Castle, 


260        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


this  precious  copper  niine.  Oh,  I  saw  it  all  now,  and 
saw  it  clearly.  Naylor  and  Horne,  and  their  creatures^ 
had  stacked  the  cards  carefully  and  patiently  and  cun- 
ningly; but  they  had  not  yet  played  out  the  game.  I 
reckoned  that  I  held  some  trumps  now  in  my  own 
hand. 

But  where  did  Norroy's  disappearance  come  in  ? 
And  what  part  had  that  factor  in  the  game  ?  I  began  to 
see  the  sort  of  men  we  were  fighting,  and  to  have  a  vast 
respect  at  once  for  their  intelligence  and  their  audacity. 
The  writ  had  been  successfully  served  on  Norroy,  with 
the  prospect  of  his  ultimate  bankruptcy.  But  stay; 
there  was  a  contingency  to  be  faced.  What  if  he  should 
succeed  in  meeting  his  creditors  and  settling  his  debts  ? 
I  could  conceive  the  infinite  dismay  with  which  Messrs. 
Naylor  and  Horne  would  contemplate  the  possibility. 
And  the  fact  is,  as  I  had  already  acknowledged  to  my- 
self,  that  that  possibility  was  advancing  even  into  a 
likelihood.  What  otherv^dse  was  the  significance  of  the 
growing  intimacy  of  Miss  Harvey  and  Norroy  ?  Rogues 
who  devised  so  cunning  an  intrigue,  and  had  so  daringly 
contrived  the  service  of  the  writ,  were  not  likely  to  re- 
main in  ignorance  either  of  the  condition  of  the  Harveys 
or  of  the  probable  course  of  events.  It  was  not  too 
much  to  assume  that  they  had  taken  fright  at  the 
chance,  and  delivered  a  stroke  with  their  characteristic 
effrontery.  If  so,  Norroy  was  a  prisoner,  and  would 
remain  a  prisoner,  if  they  could  hold  him,  until  his 
financial  affairs  had  got  beyond  salvation.  I  did  not 
doubt  in  the  least  that  they  had  captured  him;  what 
did  give  me  food  for  consideration  was  the  wonder  if 
they  had  chosen  these  vaults  as  his  cell  or  had  gone 
somewhere  else  for  their  prison. 


The  Labyrinth 


261 


I  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  vault,  and  found 
that  the  walls  were  rich  in  copper  ore.  A  certain  amount 
of  work  had  been  carried  on  here,  and  there  were  several 
hundred-weights  of  stone  broken  out  at  different  in- 
tervals; but  I  judged  that  no  systematic  attempt  had 
yet  been  made  to  work  the  lead.  That  would  wait  until 
the  rogues  were  in  possession  of  the  property,  all  signed 
and  sealed.  Then,  there  was  in  the  background,  prob- 
ably, an  eventual  flotation  and  plunder  enough  to  en- 
rich these  gutter  financiers  a  dozen  times  over.  It  had 
been  a  game  well  worth  playing,  and  I  rejoiced  that  I 
had  come  in  with  a  big  trump. 

There  were  several  openings  off  this  cavern  also,  and 
I  bent  to  look  in  the  sand  for  signs  of  any  traffic  by  them. 
I  found  two  only  with  marks  of  feet,  and  one  of  them  I 
explored  until  I  reached  a  small  cave  occupied  by  some 
boxes  and  a  barrel,  a  rude  mattress  and  coverings,  and 
a  chair.  Evidently  this  was  tenanted  by  some  one,  at 
any  rate  occasionally,  and  it  served  as  a  storehouse.  A 
glance  at  the  boxes  showed  me  that  it  served  as  a  larder 
also.  So  far  good.  It  brought  nearer  the  likelihood 
that  Norroy  was  confined  in  the  caves. 

I  had  now  wellnigh  come  to  the  end  of  my  balls  of 
string,  which  I  had  from  time  to  time  connected,  and  I 
feared  that,  if  the  galleries  ran  much  farther,  I  should 
be  forced  to  abandon  my  plan  of  following  them  up.  I 
retraced  my  way  back  to  the  ore  cavern,  and  tried  the 
second  opening.  The  corridor  from  this  led  by  a  long 
narrow  way  up  against  solid  rock.   It  was  a  cul-de-sac. 

Nothing  was  to  be  gained  apparently  on  this  side ;  and 
so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  return  to  the  central  warehouse 
and  trace  the  beetle's  footsteps  on  the  lower  side.  But 
I  had  hardly  gone  twenty  feet  or  so  backward  on  my 


262         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


string,  when  I  heard  a  shout  echoing  through  the  grim 
and  silent  tombs.  I  stopped.  It  rose  again  like  the 
hollow  voice  of  a  dead  man,  reverberating  from  the 
rock  and  booming  unearthly  in  the  chamel  atmosphere 
of  the  galleries.  It  was  hard  to  guess  at  whence  it 
came,  but  judging  it  to  arise  from  the  right  hand  I 
turned  into  a  doorway  that  opened  there,  and  let  out 
more  twine.  I  moved  as  quietly  as  I  could  through 
this  broken  passage,  and  emerged  in  a  cross-way. 
Again  the  shout  sounded,  and  it  was  now  certainly 
louder,  and  more  cavernous.  I  turned  out  of  this  gallery 
and  my  lantern  gleamed  on  the  walls  of  a  narrow 
chamber. 

"Plutus,  or  Charon,  damn  you  !" 

It  was  unmistakable.  It  was  Norroy^s  voice. 
Eagerly  I  called  his  name. 

"Good  God,  who  is  it.^  Brabazon,  what?'*  he 
cried  back  in  his  familiar  manner. 

The  voice  came  from  near  by,  and  I  swung  the  light 
in  its  direction.  It  illumined  a  patch  of  the  cell,  where 
Norroy  was  lying  on  a  pallet,  his  legs  bound  together 
by  tope,  and  his  hands  similarly  treated.  He  was 
propped  up  against  the  wall,  and  by  his  side  I  took  in  at 
a  glance  a  pint  pot  and  a  metal  plate. 

"I  say,  old  man,"  said  Norroy,  "how  the  devil  did 
you  get  here  ?  "  He  paused  a  moment,  and  then  added 
weakly,  "This  is  a  bit  thick,  is  n't  it,  what 

I  bent  over  him,  put  the  lantern  on  the  floor,  and  ex- 
tracting a  knife  from  my  pocket  cut  the  ropes  which 
bound  him. 

"Thank  goodness,  you 've  had  no  longer  of  it,"  I 
said  heartily,  and  seized  his  enfeebled  hand  affec- 
tionately. 


The  Labyrinth  263 


"It 's  been  long  enough,"  said  he.  "I  thought  you 
were  old  Plutus.  I  call  him  that  because  this  is  Hell, 
you  know." 

I  did  not  distinguish  for  him  between  Pluto  and 
Plutus,  and  after  all  in  a  way  the  beetle  might  be  con- 
sidered a  god  of  wealth  in  that  hidden  mine.  I  had  no 
doubt  he  alluded  to  the  butler. 

"Is  that  a  dwarfish  creature  with  his  head  low  on  his 
shoulders  .^^"  I  asked. 

He  nodded.  "He 's  my  gaoler.  I  wanted  a  drink. 
I  say,  is  there  anything  in  that  pot,  old  chap  ?" 

I  handed  him  the  pint  pot,  and  he  took  a  long  draught. 
Then  I  gave  him  a  sip  from  the  flask  I  carried.  "I  say, 
what 's  the  time  ?  Is  it  night  or  day  ?  How  long  have 
I  been  here }  It 's  about  ten  days,  I  think,  since  I 
heard  my  watch  stop.  I  used  to  listen  to  the  ticking  in 
my  pocket.   It  was  the  only  sound  I  could  hear." 

Ten  days  !  Lord,  how  the  man  must  have  suffered  ! 
It  could  only  have  been  as  I  reckoned  seventy-two 
hours.  But  there  is  no  such  thing  as  absolute  time,  and 
days  are  marked  merely  by  the  contents  thereof.  Time 
that  is  blank  means  nothing ;  a  thousand  years  are  but 
as  yesterday,  and  yesterday  as  a  thousand  years.  I 
shuddered.   But  I  had  something  to  learn  from  Norroy. 

"Were  you  kidnapped?"  I  asked. 

"Regularly  shanghaied,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  with  a 
return  of  his  old  cheerfulness.  "They  copped  me  on 
the  hop,  old  man.  I 'd  no  sooner  got  the  blessed  boat 
loose  than  I  was  tripped  up  on  both  sides  and  rolled 
over.  Had  n't  a  chance,  what  ?  If  they 'd  been  sport- 
ing at  all  they  would  n't  have  shot  me  sitting.  What 
the  devil  do  they  want,  anyway  ?  I  can't  pay  ransom- 
Got  no  money." 


264         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


I  knew  what  they  wanted,  and  I  noted  with  interest 
that  they  had  not  told  him. 
"Who  are  they?"  I  inquired. 

"A  tall  thin  black  buflFer  and  old  Plutus.  What  the 
Hades  do  they  want?  Plutus  won't  open  his  mouth, 
and  grins  when  I  ask  him.    Got  a  cigar  or  anything  ?" 

I  shook  my  head.  ''We  mustn't  smoke  till  we  get 
out  of  this,"  I  said.  "It  would  betray  us.  Tell  me 
what  are  this  dwarf's  habits." 

"Well,  when  he  gets  up,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  plain- 
tively, "I  don't  know,  as  it 's  always  the  middle  of  the 
night  here.  But  he  comes  round  with  breakfast  in  the 
middle  of  the  night;  and  by  and  by  he  comes  round 
with  dinner  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  And  then  he 
gives  me  supper  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  It 's  pretty 
hard  tack  too,  —  damned  ship's  biscuits  or  something.'* 

"Then  is  this  your  supper  you 've  had  ?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,  or  breakfast,  —  I  don't  know  which.  All  the 
same,  you  know.  Is  it  night?  Plutus  has  just  gone 
and  I  thought  your  steps  were  his  coming  back.  That 's 
why  I  holloaed  out.  I  say,  Brabazon,  you  did  n't  tell 
me  how  you  got  here." 

"I  'U  tell  you  that  later,"  I  said.  "We  must  think 
of  getting  out  now  while  the  tide  is  low.  Otherwise  we 
shall  be  caught  in  here  and  run  all  kinds  of  risks.  Do 
you  think  the  dwarf  sleeps  here?" 

He  shook  his  head.  "Don't  know.  Don't  know  any 
blessed  thing  except  what  I 've  told  you,"  he  said 
mournfully.  "I  suppose  I 'm  somewhere  under  the 
earth." 

"We'll  soon  have  you  above  it,"  said  I,  cheerfully. 
"Do  you  feel  your  legs  all  right?" 

"A  bit  paralytic,"  confessed  Sir  Gilbert.   "So  would 


The  Labyrinth  265 


you  be.  But  I 'm  on.  I  say,  you  are  a  good  chap  to 
hunt  me  up  like  this.   How 's  Miss  Harvey  ?" 

I  reassured  him  of  Miss  Harvey's  health,  and  he 
seemed  pleased  to  think  that  she  had  been  distressed 
by  his  disappearance.  "Jolly  good  of  her,"  he  re- 
marked, "awfully  kind  of  her.  By  Jove,  to  think  she 
was  put  out !   Ripping  of  her,  what  ?  " 

He  never  remembered  to  inquire  about  Miss  Fuller 
or  Perdita,  but  I  forgave  him.  His  spirits  rose,  till 
presently  they  were  quite  normal.  "It 's  the  constant 
darkness  that  tries  you  most,"  he  explained.  "Lord,  1 
did  get  sick  of  it.  Old  Plutus  I  used  to  hail  as  a  dear 
friend.  I  say,  Brabazon,  I  wonder  if  Hell  will  be  like 
this.  If  so,  I  'U  take  jolly  good  care  to  get  to  the  other 
place.  What  have  you  got  there  ?  "  he  broke  off,  eying 
the  string  in  my  hand. 

I  told  him,  and  his  admiration  knew  no  bounds. 
"That's  a  cute  trick,"  he  said.  "Fancy  thinking  of 
that.  We  '11  be  out  in  a  brace  of  shakes." 

I  hoped  we  should,  for  I  conceived  that  the  dwarf 
had  completed  his  task  for  the  night  and  had  gone.  The 
tide  was  by  this  time  rolling  in,  and  he  would  naturally 
be  anxious  to  get  away  from  the  caves  and  not  remain 
shut  up  in  them  all  night.  So  I  did  not  look  for  any  en- 
counter with  him,  or  with  the  lean  dark  fisherman  who 
was  evidently  his  associate  in  this  nefarious  kidnapping. 
And  so,  with  a  comparatively  light  heart  I  led  the  way, 
lantern  in  hand,  and  winding  up  my  string  as  I  moved 
towards  the  mouth  of  the  caves. 

We  had  gone  some  half  of  the  distance,  as  I  estimated 
from  the  amount  of  the  reclaimed  string,  when  I  noticed 
that  the  twine  lay  on  the  sand  in  loops,  looser,  that  is, 
than  I  had  imagined  it  would  lie  from  the  fall  I  had  given 


266         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


it  on  my  entrance.  I  paid,  however,  small  heed  to  this, 
giving  it  nothing  beyond  a  vague  wonder.  And  next  it 
came  into  my  mind  to  speculate  as  to  whether  this 
passage  I  had  happened  upon  was  that  used  by  the 
dwarf  and  his  confederates.  I  was  still  without  any 
misgivings  as  to  my  power  to  reach  the  ultimate  outer 
cavern,  and  had  thus  room  and  time  to  devote  to  some 
curiosity.  I  stopped  and  scrutinized  the  floor.  But 
here  the  rock  outcropped,  and  though  I  fancied  I  could 
discern  the  print  of  feet  I  was  not  sure.  We  continued, 
therefore,  until  I  felt  the  ground  under  me  soft  with 
«and,  when  I  made  another  examination.  You  see  I 
thought  my  observations  might  come  in  useful  in  the 
subsequent  operations  on  those  galleries  that  I  saw 
imminent. 

I  resumed,  slowly,  ever  pulling  the  cord  which  lay  on 
the  ground ;  and  soon  I  was  aware  that  I  must  be  ap- 
proaching the  mouth,  for  I  had  wound  up  almost  the 
whole  of  my  last  ball  of  string,  A  little  farther,  I  reck- 
oned, I  should  get  into  the  gallery  leading  to  the  second 
cave.  I  wound  up,  the  ball  increased,  grew  into  a 
monstrous  bunch,  as  you  know  string  will  under  amateur 
hands,  and  suddenly  and  without  warning,  I  pulled 
up  the  end,  which  dangled  through  my  fingers  loosely 
as  I  wound.    I  stopped  paralyzed  by  fear. 

I  had  reached  the  end  of  the  twine,  and  this  was  a 
strange  place  !  The  end  of  the  ball  was  not  where  I  had 
left  it  —  in  the  outside  caves  ! 

I  was  aghast  at  this  discovery,  so  much  so  that  I  did 
not  immediately  grasp  its  meaning.  When  I  did  so  my 
consternation  was  the  greater.  The  end  of  the  string 
I  had  fastened,  as  I  have  told  you,  on  a  projection  of 
rock  in  the  second  cave.   Human  agency  had  removed 


The  Labyrinth  267 


it  thence.  We  had  no  longer  a  clue  to  guide  us  out  of 
the  subterranean  passage ! 

"What 's  the  matter,  old  chap >?"  said  poor  Norroy, 
seeing  me  come  to  an  abrupt  halt. 

It  went  to  my  heart  to  tell  him.  Yet  it  had  to  be  done. 
He  drew  a  finger  ruefully  down  his  long  nose. 

"I  say,"  he  said.  "What  a  beastly  nuisance !  Who 
the  deuce  can  have  shifted  it.^^" 

I  saw  plainly  now,  and  cursed  myself  for  the  stu~ 
pendous  folly  which  had  prevented  me  from  being  alive 
to  the  danger  earlier.  As  I  had  read  the  dwarf's  foot- 
steps, so  could  he  read  mine !  They  had  betrayed  me 
doubtless  to  his  accustomed  eyes,  and  he  had  taken  the 
best  means  of  disposing  of  the  stranger.  There  was  no 
need  of  violence,  no  necessity  for  angry  words  and 
furious  encounters;  this  custodian  of  the  inferno,  as 
Norroy  rightly  considered  him,  found  the  means  for 
my  undoing  ready  to  his  hand,  and  supplied  by  myself. 
He  had  removed  the  thread  of  twine  into  the  intricate 
maze  of  the  labyrinth,  and  now  we  two  hapless  creatures 
stood  there,  somewhere  deep  in  the  bowels  of  the  cliff 
side,  with  only  a  remote  chance  of  beating  our  way  out. 

The  blacker  grew  the  prospect  every  minute  that  I 
considered  it.  It  was  true  we  had  a  lantern,  but  I  did 
not  know  how  long  the  oil  would  last ;  and  if  we  had  not 
succeeded  in  breaking  out  of  the  ravelled  web  before 
that  happened,  our  case  would  be  ten  times  more  des- 
perate. I  will  admit  that  I  lost  heart  in  that  terrible 
moment.  Can  you  call  the  picture  up  .^^  —  A  hundred 
dark  and  narrow  intercommunicating  passages,  a 
rabbit-warren  of  holes,  an  endless  journey  along  blind 
alleys,  and  a  man  weakened  and  dispirited  by  solitary 
confinement  for  days  and  poor  food?    Did  I  say  dis- 


268        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


pirited  ?  Sir  Gilbert's  voice  issued  thinly  just  then  ta 
;give  me  the  lie. 

"I'll  tell  you  what!  If  old  Acheron  hasn't  cleared 
out,  let 's  get  hold  of  him  and  screw  his  neck  till  he  tells 
us  how  to  get  out." 

It  was  a  bright  idea  !  He  seemed  pleased  with  it,  and 
feebly  stuck  his  eye-glass  in  his  eye  to  see  how  I  took  it. 

"An  excellent  idea,"  said  I,  judicially,  "if  we  find 
him."  This  perhaps  set  him  thinking,  for  he  turned 
his  mind  aside  from  that  happy  thought  and  surveyed 
the  hopeless  corridor. 

"It  stands  to  reason,"  he  pronounced,  "that  the 
entrance  is  n't  this  way  since  old  Plutus  would  n't  be 
fool  enough  to  shift  it  nearabouts.  I  vote  we  turn  and 
hark  back." 

The  notion  was  as  good  as  any  that  I  could  suggest, 
and  I  agreed.  We  might,  in  truth,  as  well  toss  a  coin 
for  it  at  every  corner.  We  retraced  our  way  to  an 
opening. 

"I'll  tell  you  a  good  idea,"  said  Norroy,  presently. 
"We'll  mark  these  places.  I've  got  a  pencil  in  my 
pocket;  and  we'll  mark  'em.  And  then,  if  the  route 
fails,  we'll  know  we've  tried  it,  see.^" 

I  wondered  how  long  it  would  take  us  to  mark  all 
the  openings  in  the  rock,  but  I  did  not  dare  to  dis- 
courage him.  He  made  a  cross  after  some  efforts  on 
the  dark  stone,  and  marched  cheerily  on,  repeating  the 
same  operation  at  the  next  turning. 

"Don't  they  blaze  trees  somewhere  or  other  to  guide 
them  "  he  asked,  as  his  mind  caught  at  another 
brilliant  notion.  "Oh,  I  say,  Brabazon,  we  '11  wear  'em 
down  yet.  You've  only  got  to  keep  going,  you  know, 
what?" 


The  Labyrinth  269^ 

Well,  we  kept  going,  until  both  of  us  were  exhausted^, 
and  without  the  slightest  result.  Let  me  briefly  re- 
hearse the  proceedings  of  that  awful  night. 

Naturally  I  first  thought  of  the  foot-tracks,  that  un- 
happy medium  of  our  ruin.  Since  the  dwarf  had  shifted 
our  clue  he  must  have  left  imprints  of  his  passage 
behind.  These  I  discovered  occasionally  where  the  sand 
was  loose  underfoot,  and  it  was  these  that  we  followed 
during  our  first  attempt.  Sir  Gilbert  was  content  to 
mark  his  crosses  at  the  turnings  we  took  on  the  chance 
that  our  essay  would  not  prove  successful.  In  this  he 
was  right.  The  dwarf's  tracks  led  by  impish  devious 
ways,  and  once  crossed  the  central  vault  which  I  have 
described.  But  when  my  hopes  were  raised  to  a  high 
pitch  by  the  hypothesis  that  he  was  now  on  his  road  to 
the  entrance  I  lost  them  altogether  on  a  rocky  floor.  I 
tried  one  way  and  then  another,  but  all  in  vain;  the 
footmarks  had  vanished.  Nevertheless,  I  swore  that 
I  would  exhaust  all  the  possible  permutations  of  the 
various  directions,  and,  accordingly,  I  resolved  to  rest 
where  we  were  and  start  again  with  renewed  strength. 
Norroy's  pencil  had  been  eagerly  busy  as  he  ticked  off 
the  passages  we  had  tested.  He  had  never  once  lost 
hope,  and  even  confidence;  and  to  hear  this  amazing 
man  you  would  have  conceived  him  to  be  amusing 
himself  on  a  pleasure  excursion  rather  than  to  be  fight- 
ing for  his  life  in  a  darkness  which  had  owned  him  for 
days. 

We  sat  down,  put  out  our  lamp  to  economize  the  oil, 
and  rested.  My  watch  had  told  me  a  little  before  that  it 
was  two  in  the  morning,  and  a  low  moaning  in  the  ears, 
informed  us  that  the  tide  was  up  and  was  breaking  in 
the  outer  caverns.  The  sound  was  ghastly  in  its  quality^ 


270        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


not  threatening  and  angry  as  it  was  on  the  cliffs  without, 
but  pitifully  whining  and  groaning  —  as  it  were  the 
voices  from  a  lake  of  damned  souls  with  no  hope  of 
redemption.  Its  lamentable  clamor  filled  the  subter- 
ranean corridors.  It  went  to  the  heart.  It  never  rose  or 
fell,  but  remained  ever  one  long  low  burden  of  woe, 
forced,  as  it  were,  from  victims  who  knew  there  was  no 
answer  to  their  cries,  but  could  not  contain  them  for 
sheer  physical  suffering. 

Norroy  made  some  remarks,  a  poor  attempt  at  con- 
versation, and  at  last  was  silent;  and  then  I  think  we 
both  dropped  off  to  sleep.  When  I  awoke  I  felt  hungry 
and  stiff  and  bewildered,  and  I  wished  that  the  larder  I 
had  come  across  earlier  in  the  night  was  accessible. 
I  took  a  little  whiskey  from  the  flask.  I  lit  the  lamp  and 
examined  my  watch.  It  was  past  eight  o'clock  and 
the  tide  would  be  out  again.  There  was  no  sound  in 
the  corridors ;  all  was  still  as  a  graveyard.  The  dying 
were  dead  and  the  damned  were  silent. 

I  woke  Norroy,  who  confessed  to  hunger,  but  was 
eager  to  resume  work. 

"Look  here,  we  can't  be  far  off,"  he  said  after  a  nip 
of  whiskey.  "Look  at  that  row  there  was  all  night. 
Let's  get  along." 

We  started  on  our  task  again  with  some  freshness, 
and  explored  several  more  passages,  but  without  finding 
any  traces  of  feet  which  would  suggest  that  any  of  them 
was  the  adit  from  the  mouth  of  the  cavern.  After  two 
hours'  work  we  rested  again,  and  made  a  renewed 
attack  in  force  thereafter.  Norroy's  stump  of  pencil 
had  been  worn  out,  and  with  its  fading  he  grew  less 
confident.  And  now  I  regretted  that  I  had  not  at- 
tempted to  get  at  the  larder  when  we  had  struck  the 


The  Labyrinth  271 


central  warehouse,  from  which  I  had  originally  reached 
it. 

"If  we  only  had  a  bottle  of  ale  and  some  cheese  !"  he 
groaned,  and  then  "I  say,  Brabazon,  let's  smoke  a 
cigar,"  he  brightened.  "That  keeps  you  from  thinking 
of  your  stomach,  they  say." 

I  had  no  cigars,  but  I  had  a  case  of  cigarettes,  which 
I  had  forgotten  in  our  wretchedness,  and  now  we  lit  one 
each  with  a  certain  satisfaction. 

"It's  very  odd,"  mused  Sir  Gilbert,  as  if  he  were 
talking  in  his  smoking-room,  "how  you've  got  to  see  the 
smoke  you  make  to  properly  enjoy  it.  I  ought  to  be 
revelling  in  this,  but  I'm  not." 

Of  course  we  had  put  the  lamp  out  while  we  rested. 

"Got  another  match he  said.  "I've  lighted  mine 
sideways.    Cigarettes  are  no  good  to  me." 

I  felt  in  my  pocket.  I  had  only  a  few  matches  left. 
"We  must  husband  them,"  I  said. 

We  finished  our  cigarettes  and  resumed,  and  we  had 
not  been  at  work  ten  minutes  before  I  called  out  that  on 
the  sand  before  me  was  the  print  of  heavy  boots. 

"Good  old  Brabazon!"  cried  Norroy,  admiringly. 
*T  say,  you  are  a  daisy !  Now  we  shan't  be  long." 

I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  my  own  heart  was 
pumping  excitedly.  I  put  the  lantern  closer  to  the 
floor  and  hurried  on.  The  tracks  led  downwards  the 
way  we  were  going,  and  there  were  several  of  them. 
Undoubtedly  this  was  the  main  gallery  used  by  the 
conspirators  to  and  from  the  copper  lead.  The  reflection 
just  flashed  through  my  head  that  I  had  not  yet  revealed 
to  Norroy  the  explanation  of  the  mystery,  and  that  he 
had  not  asked  again  about  it.  How  like  a  child  !  His 
mind  had  no  persistence ;  and  yet  his  will  was  obstinate. 


272 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


Why  this  thought  came  to  me  in  so  triumphant  a 
moment  I  knew  not ;  I  was  hastening  on,  nose  to  ground, 
running  up  the  scent  almost  mechanically,  and  with  a 
swelling  heart.  And  then  without  warning  the  lamp 
sank  and  expired,  leaving  us  in  utter  blackness. 


CHLIPTER  XX 


THZ  TIDZ 

:  ;  :        :    :    :    reaction ! 

:he  trail  to  the 
cht  and  sound,  our 

-  :  > .    ±   z  supply  of  oil  had  at 
^iven  no  w:iniino^.  but  the  llame 
-  I  V  :  red  an  oath  for 

.  XoiToy,  in  the 

^.-^  .iiid  pitched 

:  :  him  sit  down  in  the 

v.  rked    simply:    and  then, 

"  V  too  few  in  number,  but  they 
I  str.i  jk  one,  and  with  all 
:  :  ki;  till  it  went  out, 

:  r    ^  eration,  Norroy 
eve  six  matches  in 
;     :  ^    ^  s  'me  fifty  yards  by 
:      :  :  roe  more,  and  this 

v  ;:.  :  r  e  was  no  possible 
c-:--;    o  .rkr.ess.  ::::d  darkness  in 

1R 


274        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


The  first  thing  to  secure  was  that  we  should  keep 
together;  and  so  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  call  to 
each  other  constantly,  to  prevent  any  possibility  of  either 
going  astray.  Next,  we  resolved  to  move  forward  along 
the  gallery  in  which  we  were  by  feeling  on  the  walls.  We 
proceeded  perhaps  a  dozen  yards  in  this  way,  and  then 
the  wall  terminated  under  my  hands,  and  I  knew  we 
had  come  to  a  cross  track.  Despair  seized  us.  We  had 
no  means  of  telling  in  which  direction  we  should  move 
now,  whether  forward,  or  to  right  or  to  left ;  everything 
must  go  by  blind  chance. 

"Let's  try  the  right,"  said  Norroy,  and  we  tried  it. 

It  harrows  me  even  at  this  distance  of  time  to  look 
back  upon  that  dreadful  night  in  day  and  to  recall  the 
emotions  to  which  we  were  subject.  Norroy's  matter-of- 
fact  voice  was  at  first  of  some  assistance  to  one's  nerves. 
It  did  not  seem  as  if  anything  could  be  so  far  wrong  with 
that  placid  temper  beside  one.  And  I  think  I  felt  his 
collapse,  when  it  came,  all  the  more.  I  had  not  looked 
for  it,  and  it  shocked  me. 

His  voice  ceased  gradually  and  he  sank  into  silence; 
and  the  silence  imposed  upon  that  maddening  darkness 
seemed  to  reinforce  our  terrible  condition.  I  spoke  to 
him,  and  he  did  not  answer.  I  called,  fearing  that  he 
had  moved  away.  ...  I  put  out  my  hand  and  it 
touched  him. 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked  dully. 

I  don't  think  he  had  heard ;  he  had  sunk  into  apathy, 
almost  into  coma.  My  voice  passed  him  as  if  he  were 
inanimate,  and  it  was  only  at  my  touch  he  woke. 

"Don't  let 's  lose  heart!"  I  pleaded  in  dread.  "If 
we  do  we  are  done  for." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Sir  Gilbert,  slowly,  as  if  thinking. 


The  Tide 


275 


suppose  starvation  will  do  the  trick.  I 'd  sooner 
have  that  than  the  other/' 

"What  other?"  I  asked  in  a  low  and  frightened 
voice. 

"Well,  look  here/'  he  said,  "how  much  of  this  can 
you  stand 

"Probably  as  much  of  it  as  we  shall  have  to,"  I 
answered  rallying. 

"No,  you  won't,"  he  said  slowly.  "I 've  had  a  bit. 
I  know.  I  dare  say  you  'U  stand  it  longer  than  I 
will." 

"What  are  you  afraid  of  I  whispered  again,  in  a 
terrible  fascination. 

"Going  off  my  head,"  he  returned  in  his  dull  tone. 
It  was  unlike  the  Norroy  I  knew.    I  was  scared. 

"Nonsense!"  I  protested  weakly. 

"I  know,"  he  said.  "I 've  had  it.  I 've  been  here 
ten  days." 

That  he  had  not  yet  been  there  four  days  made  the 
effect  of  his  statement  worse.  I  did  not  correct  him.  I 
had  no  heart.   We  sank  into  silence  again. 

I  do  not  know,  of  course,  how  long  I  slept,  but  I 
know  I  fell  off  in  the  mercy  of  God,  and  when  I  woke 
I  was  afraid  to  speak  lest  I  might  awake  a  sleeping 
comrade.  I  sat  still,  therefore,  my  mind  flowing  drearily 
onwards.  The  awful  moaning  of  the  waters  again 
filled  the  caverns.  I  fixed  my  thoughts  on  Perdita  — 
Perdita  in  the  light,  Perdita  with  the  sunshine  playing 
on  her  bronze-gold  hair,  Perdita  with  her  vivid  rose 
face.  I  shut  my  eyes,  as  if  to  pretend  that  the  darkness 
was  only  within  me,  and  that  the  day  was  broad  without, 
and  the  curtains  of  my  vision  parted  and  I  saw  Perdita. 
She  was  always  in  the  light. 


276        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


What  I  had  loved  first  and  always  about  Perdita  was 
the  sunshine  of  her  face.  Her  presence  lit  up  a  room ; 
she  was  radiant  with  color  and  brightness.  I  could  see 
her  now.  .  .  .  The  wailing  of  the  lost  souls  came  up  the 
rocky  corridors.  I  shut  my  eyes  tighter,  and  strove  to 
close  my  ears  to  all  but  Perdita 's  voice.  Sweet  and  low 
and  infinitely  various  in  its  inflections  it  sounded  in  my 
ears.  And  I  saw  her  dewy  eyes,  full  of  tenderness,  under 
the  inspiration  of  love.  Was  not  this  the  day  I  was  to  go 
to  Perdita  and  ask  for  Perdita 's  hand  ?  I  wondered 
what  hour  it  was.  It  was  time  I  was  there  for  certain. 
I  should,  perhaps,  be  at  this  moment  entering  the  little 
sitting-room  at  Mrs.  Lane's.  .  .  .  Perdita  rose  from  the 
window  and  came  forward  to  meet  me,  sUent,  with  no 
sound,  but  only  with  her  eloquent  face.  I  took  her  in 
my  arms. 

Somehow  Miss  Fuller  entered  the  room,  started  and 
went  back.  She  was  ever  a  discreet  woman,  and  I  had 
given  her  a  message  for  Perdita.  I  saw  Miss  Fuller's 
heap  of  parcels  rolling  in  the  dust  again.  I  picked 
them  up  for  her.  There  was  an  envelope  with  its  con- 
tents strewn,  and  what  was  it — "Miss  Rivers?"  I 
wondered  why. 

Through  a  rift  in  my  consciousness  the  voices  of  the 
damned  and  dying  rolled  in  upon  my  soul.  A  groan 
sounded  by  me. 

"'Are  you  awake,  Norroy?"  I  asked. 

"I've  never  been  asleep,"  he  answered.  "I  was 
keeping  quiet  for  you." 

"And  I  for  you,"  I  replied.  "But  I  have  slept,  and 
I  wonder  how  long." 

"I  don't  know,"  he  answered.  "All  time 's  the  same 
Jiere.   Is  n't  that  sound  awful  ?" 


The  Tide 


277 


"Don't  think  of  it,"  I  enjoined.  "Keep  your  mind 
going.    Tliink  of  something  you  value." 

"I  suppose  it  is  all  up  with  us,  Brabazon,"  he  said 
presently.   "There  is  n't  any  chance." 

"Only  the  chance  of  their  relenting,"  I  said,  "and 
I  suppose  that  is  n't  much.  But  we  can  go  under  with 
the  flag  flying,  old  chap," 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  assented  listlessly,  and  then,  "They 
must  have  seen  your  footmarks.  I  wonder  what  the 
devil  it  all  means." 

That  reminded  me.  This  patient  creature  was  still 
in  the  dark  as  to  the  secret  of  the  caves ;  and  so  I  told 
him.   To  my  astonishment  he  grew  quite  interested. 

"  Golly  !"  he  exclaimed.  "A  copper  mine !  Who  the 
deuce  would  have  thought  it !  I  say,  Brabazon,  if  we 
did  manage  to  squeeze  out  of  this  that  would  be  all 
right  for  me,  what?" 

"Let  us  suppose  we  shall!"  I  suggested. 

He  laughed  harshly.  "All  right.  It  won't  do  any 
harm.  I  '11  lend  you  a  couple  of  thousand,  old  chap,  if 
you  want  it." 

"I  can  do  with  it,"  I  said  with  alacrity,  "and  then 
we  '11  take  a  holiday  in  the  Pyrenees  for  the  winter." 

"It  would  n't  be  bad,"  he  said.  "They 've  got  damn 
good  golf  courses  at  Biarritz  and  Jean  de  Luz.  But 
oh,  hang  it,  what's  the  use.^^  We're  cooked!"  His 
odd  mind  reverted  to  the  discovery.  "Cunning  beggar, 
that  Naylor  man.  He 's  a  real  crook,  I  should  think. 
Damn  it,  Brabazon,  to  think  that  I  shan't  be  able  to 
turn  up  at  my  case !  We  '11  be  skeletons  before  that 
time.  Oh,  he 's  an  artful  beggar,  and  I 've  been  a 
silly  cuckoo."  I  heard  a  sound  and  guessed  he  had  got 
on  his  feet   "Look  here,  old  man,  I 'm  not  going  to  be 


^78         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

diddled  by  these  bounders.  I 'm  going  to  get  out, 
what?" 

"Excellent!"  said  I,  glad  to  see  his  obstinate  will 
stiffen.  When  it  cooled  in  its  mould  there  were  few 
chances  of  breaking  it. 

''Come  along,"  said  he.    "Let's  have  another  shot 

it." 

I  rose,  too,  and  together,  keeping  touch  with  each 
other,  we  made  our  last  essay. 

It  was  a  gallant  effort,  and  when  we  succumbed  I 
recognized  it  was  the  end.  But  Norroy's  temper  was 
as  unbending  iron;  he  clung  to  his  resolve  with  the 
tenacity  of  an  animal  at  bay.  Tired,  weakened  with 
his  long  incarceration,  beaten  to  his  knees,  he  still 
fought  on. 

"We  '11  have  a  bit  of  a  rest,"  he  panted,  "and  then 
go  on  again." 

We  drank  the  last  of  the  whiskey  and  sank  down,  and 
compassionate  nature  sent  us  the  relief  of  sleep.  The 
last  thing  of  which  I  was  conscious  was  the  droning 
of  the  waters  somewhere  that  we  could  not  reach. 

I  was  awakened  by  an  odd  sensation  on  my  face 
which  had  sunk  to  the  level  of  the  sandy  floor.  I  had  a 
strange  and  ugly  and  broken  nightmare,  and  I  awoke 
to  the  lapping  of  water  on  my  cheek.  I  put  out  an  arm 
half  unconsciously  and  it  went  into  cold  water.  I 
started.  I  ^as  fully  awake.  What  was  this  ?  And  then 
I  knew.    It  was  the  tide ! 

I  shook  Norroy,  who  came  to  with  difficulty,  owing 
to  his  weakness,  and  told  him  of  my  discovery. 

"The  tide  ! "  he  cried.   "  Good  Lord,  then  we  're  — " 

"Saved!"  I  ejaculated.  "This  is  the  high- water 
mark  in  the  underground  passages  to  which  we  have 


The  Tide 


279 


blundered  in  the  darkness.  If  we  wait  now  till  the  sea 
goes  down,  and  follow  it  up  as  it  retires  we  are  bound 
to  come  out.     God  be  thanked  !" 

"Bully  !"  cried  Norroy,  feebly.  "Did  n't  I  say  we 'd 
see  it  through,  old  man  ?  Look  here,  where  is  it  ?  Let 
me  feel  it." 

He  leaned  eagerly  forward  and  dabbled  his  hands  in 
the  wavelets  that  rippled  in  by  our  legs. 

"I  say,  Brabazon,"  he  said  presently,  "we'll  stick 
to  that  arrangement,  my  boy." 

"What  arrangement?"  I  asked,  wondering  at  him. 

"Why,  about  the  two  thousand  quid,  and  the  Pyre- 
nees and  so  on.  Look  here,  what  do  you  think  ?  Would 
the  Harveys  come.^^" 

It  was  pleasant  to  talk  thus,  and  I  was  almost  as 
light  of  mind  and  heart  as  was  he  in  the  wonderful 
reaction. 

"Yes,  if  you  angled  them  properly,"  I  said. 

"You 'd  better,"  he  said  after  a  pause,  "I 'm  not 
much  of  a  pet  with  women." 

"Why,  I 'm  sure  both  Mrs.  and  Miss  Harvey  think 
a  lot  of  you,"  I  replied. 

"Think  so.^"  he  asked  eagerly.  "Does  she  really? 
Honest  injun  ?" 

I  knew  which  he  meant  by  his  singular  pronoun,  and 
I  reassured  him  of  my  sincerity,  which  profoundly  de- 
lighted him.  He  began  to  draw  up  a  wild  scheme  for 
future  holidays  in  which  the  Harveys  and  myself  were 
to  participate.  But  he  never  mentioned  Perdita.  Oh, 
Sir  Gilbert  Norroy,  dear,  dull  Englishman,  was  the 
most  kindly  and  self-centered  and  stupid  of  men.  But 
I  let  him  talk ;  nay,  I  encouraged  him  to  do  so  —  and 
all  the  time  the  tide  was  turning. 


280         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


It  began  to  go  down  at  last,  and  it  ran  out  fast. 

Keeping  one  to  each  side  of  the  passage,  we  pressed  on, 
never  losing  touch  of  the  miraculous  water  by  a  foot's 
width.  Out  ebbed  the  sea  with  a  ripple  and  babble 
of  water,  and  with  every  moment  our  hearts  grew  lighter 
and  brighter. 

We  cared  nothing  now  for  tides  and  cross-roads  and 
adits  and  exits  and  turnings.  Our  sightless  eyes  were 
fixed  forward  ever  towards  the  receding  sea,  and  step 
by  step  we  tramped  after  it,  telling  one  another  of  the 
upper  world  without  and  the  light  and  the  free  breath 
of  heaven. 

And  now  I  began  to  perceive  a  sensible  loosening  of 
the  darkness.  It  grew  lighter,  as  it  were  the  darkness 
of  the  night  when  the  dawn  is  coming  up.  I  almost 
felt  that  I  could  make  out  the  rocky  walls  by  which  we 
guided  ourselves  through  the  cavernous  places.  And 
foot  by  foot  we  were  on  our  way  towards  the  light. 

The  light !  Yes,  it  was  light  to  us,  though  the  world 
above  us  was  lying  wrapped  in  deep  night.  I  saw  that 
much  when  we  reached  the  inner  cavern,  and  I  could 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  blue-black  sky  without.  The 
sea  stole  out  reluctant  into  the  outer  cavern  and  we 
advanced  with  it.  It  hung  there,  as  if  loath  to  retreat 
farther;  and  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  cave  the  wild 
water  was  roaring  on  the  rocks.  The  sky,  as  I  have 
said,  was  light  to  us,  but  in  reality  it  was  black  with 
storm.  The  rain  beat  on  the  sea  in  sheets,  and  the 
wind  blew  out  of  heaven  in  a  gale.  We  stood,  waiting 
with  incredible  patience  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  tide 
beyond  the  cavern,  which  would  give  us  access  to  the 
rocks  and  the  face  of  the  cliffs  beyond. 

And  then  between  us  and  the  sky-line,  suddenly  I 


The  Tide 


281 


was  aware  of  something  blacker,  starker  than  the 
heaven. 

"A  boat !  A  boat !"  cried  Norroy,  seizing  my  arm. 

It  was  a  boat  under  spirit  sails,  and  it  seemed  to  be 
riding  across  the  face  of  the  water  in  front  of  the  cave. 

"What  is  she  doing  in  so  close?"  I  asked  aloud. 
"On  such  a  night,  and  in  such  a  storm  what  could  in- 
duce men  to  take  so  great  a  risk.^" 

Has  she  been  blown  in  perchance  by  the  gale,  a  fisher 
boat  from  the  channel?  I  strained  my  eyes  to  make 
out  what  I  could,  and  after  that  terrible  darkness  of  the 
caverns  I  was  able  to  see  more  clearly  than  I  otherwise 
should  have  done.  Her  bow  appeared  to  be  turned 
towards  the  cliff,  and  the  rag  of  the  sail  blotted  out  the 
mast,  but  as  she  drove  nearer  in  the  storm  a  figure  was 
visible  clinging  to  the  sheets.  Behind  that  mass  of 
black  cloud  I  knew  there  was  a  moon  somewhere 
lightening  the  general  cast  of  the  sky ;  and  now  through 
a  jagged  breach  in  heaven  it  showed,  slight  and  silver, 
for  a  moment,  and  in  that  instant  the  boat,  headed  for 
the  caves,  bore  down  upon  us,  and  was  lit  up  from  end 
to  end.  In  the  stem  was  a  man  struggling  with  the 
tiller  in  the  draw  and  suck  and  maelstrom  of  the  waters. 
But  my  eyes  only  dwelled  on  him  momentarily;  for 
the  form  in  the  prow  arrested  my  attention.  It  was  a 
woman's.  She  stood,  with  both  hands  upon  the  shrouds 
by  her,  hatless,  with  blown  hair  and  blown  gown,  and 
even  through  the  mist  of  rain  and  spray  I  knew  her. 
I  uttered  a  cry.  It  was  Perdita,  recognizable  in  every 
line  of  her  body,  recognizable  in  the  poise  of  her  head 
and  neck,  in  the  upward  curve  of  her  arms.  For  one 
instant  she  stood  thus  above  the  level  of  my  fascinated 
gaze,  a  spirit  of  the  storm,  as  it  seemed,  a  wild  sea- 


282        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


maiden  out  of  the  tempestuous  waters.  And  the  next  the 
boat  plunged,  rode  down  upon  the  caverns,  lurched 
and  cracked  like  brittle  china  on  the  outlying  rocks  of 
the  cliff.  But  more  than  that  I  saw  not ;  for  as  she  went 
down  in  the  water,  carrying  my  heart  and  life,  I  was 
aware  of  a  dull  pain  in  the  head  and  consciousness 
left  me. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


LOVE  IN  DEATH 

THE  blackness  of  night  environed  me.  I  drew  a 
deep  breath  which  was  a  sigh  as  I  realized  this, 
and  knew  that  all  I  had  gone  through  was  a  dream.  It 
was  indeed  a  characteristic  dream,  from  the  lapping 
of  the  water  about  my  face  to  our  arrival  in  the  outer 
cavern,  and  to  the  storm  and  the  Loreley  of  the  storm 
as  she  swept  down  upon  us  in  pity  and  majesty.  I 
groaned  loudly,  and  a  voice  called  my  name. 

"Is  that  you,  Norroy  ?"  I  asked  weakly;  *'I 've  had 
a  strange  and  vivid  dream.  I  dreamt  we 'd  got  down- 
to  the  outer  cavern." 

"No,  you  didn't,  old  boy,"  said  Norroy's  voice. 
"It  was  n't  a  dream." 

But  these  were  not  Norroy's  hands  that  held  mine, 
they  were  too  small  and  delicate.  In  a  maze  I  removed 
one  hand  of  my  own  and  put  it  out  with  a  queer  elation^ 
of  the  heart. 

"Dearest!"  whispered  a  voice  to  me.  "Dearest!" 

Perdita  !  Then  it  was  no  dream.  But  a  dozen  ques- 
tions rushed  upon  me.  What  had  happened  ?  How 
did  we  get  here  ?  Where  were  we  ?  And  how  was 
Perdita  here.^  Yet  in  that  exultant  moment  it  was 
enough  that  she  was  there,  sitting  by  my  side,  her 
tender  hands  clasping  mine. 

"Perdita  !"  I  murmured.  "Oh,  my  sweetheart,  my 
dearest,  my  darling  with  the  dove's  eyes  !  Was  it  really 


284        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


you  then,  and  no  angelic  vision  merely?  I  saw  you 
riding  the  storm,  dearest,  like  a  minister  of  mercy. 
What  were  you  doing  there,  my  sweet  and  beautiful?" 

Her  fingers  trembled  on  mine.  "I  came  to  you," 
she  whispered  back. 

"Forme!"  I  echoed.  "But  how?  But  why  — " 
"You  did  not  come,"  said  Perdita,  softly  in  the  dark- 
ness that  was  now  light  to  me.  "You  said  you  would 
come  and  you  did  n't.  I  went  to  the  Castle,  because 
you  had  told  me  where  you  were  going,  and  I  was  afraid. 
I  did  n't  believe  that  there  was  no  danger.  I  felt  there 
was  danger."  She  shivered.  "And  at  the  Castle  they 
had  heard  no  news  of  you,  and  then  I  knew  I  was 
right.  I  knew  that  some  evil  had  come  to  you.  And 
so  I  came." 

I  drew  her  slowly,  firmly,  confidently  out  of  the 
darkness  towards  me,  and  her  face  rested  on  my 
shoulder. 

"Dear  brave  heart !"  I  murmured  in  her  ear.  "Tell 
me  how." 

"Feel  any  better,  old  chap?"  broke  in  Norroy. 

"Yes,"  I  replied.  "I  am  quite  recovered.  Indeed,  I 
am  fit  for  anything,"  I  laughed.  So  great  and  strong 
and  deep  is  Love  that  can  conquer  all  things. 

"I  say,  isn't  Miss  Forrest  a  brick?"  he  demanded 
heartily.    "She  came  after  us." 

Me  !  Me  !  after  me,  O  foolish  and  blind  !  I  pressed 
her  hair  and  it  was  wet  and  disordered.  "I  must  learn 
all,"  I  said.    "Please  go  on,  dear." 

"And  when  you  did  n't  come,"  proceeded  Perdita, 
went  back  to  the  village,  and  I  went  to  old  Hawes, 
the  boatman.  And  I  told  him  all  that  I  knew,  and  what 
you  had  said,  and  where  you  were  going.   And  Hawes 


Love  in  Death  285 


listened,  and  rubbed  his  tobacco  and  put  it  in  his  pipe, 
and  he  said  : 

"  *  Well,  Miss,  I  reckon  those  caves  are  a  bit  mazing. 
When  I  was  a  boy  I  nigh  got  lost  in  them  myself.'  " 

"And  so  we  arranged  to  go  to  them  at  once,  and  see 
what  —  what  had  happened.  Hawes  would  have  it 
that  you  had  lost  your  way,  but  somehow  I  knew  better. 
And  the  tide  was  up,  but  I  could  n't  wait,  and  so  Hawes 
suggested  that  we  should  get  as  near  to  the  cliff  as  we 
could,  and  then  make  our  way  along  the  rocks  when  the 
tide  ran  out  of  the  caves.  But  the  storm  got  up  and  the 
rain  came,  and  somehow  the  rudder  got  broken,  and  we 
got  in  that  current  and  drove  on  the  rocks,  and  —  Oh  !'^ 
Perdita  sobbed.  *^Poor  Hawes  is  drowned.  He  must 
have  gone  down  with  the  boat." 

"No,  no,"  I  soothed  her.  "These  old  sailors  know 
too  much.  He  is  sure  to  be  all  right."  But  I  wanted 
to  know  more.  What  did  Perdita  in  the  caves  with  us  ?' 
And  where  were  we  ?  It  was  Norroy  who  answered  my 
query,  and  in  a  shambling  awkward  voice. 

"Well,  we're  back  again,  old  chap!  Same  old 
business !" 

"How  back!"  I  cried.  "But  how  is  that. Why, 
we  were  in  the  outer  cavern." 

"It's  that  damned  Cerberus  —  beg  your  pardon. 
Miss  Forrest.  But  he  is,  you  know.  Lives  in  Hell.  I 
should  know,  as  I 've  been  there  along  with  him  for  a 
fortnight.  Fact  is,  Brabazon,  it 's  plain  the  beggar 
was  n't  out  of  the  caves,  and  he  laid  us  out." 

"Laid  us  out!" 

"Yes,  is  n't  your  head  a  bit  sore  ?  Mine  is.  He  and 
the  other  chap  must  have  come  up  with  us  just  as  we 
were  thinking  of  clearing  out,  and  I  saw  the  dwarf 


£86        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


sock  it  into  you.  You  gave  a  cry,  and  that  called  my 
attention.  But  you  must  have  cried  out  before  you  got  it. 
I  saw  the  bar  come  down  on  you  as  I  turned.  And  then 
t'other  brute  got  me." 

My  heart  sickened.  We  were  back  then  in  the  old 
cave,  with  all  the  old  terrors  and  despair.  But  no,  there 
was  no  despair  for  me  with  Perdita  by  me,  though  I 
might  experience  fear  for  her. 

"Th^  must  have  carted  us  somehow  up  here  again," 
went  on  Norroy.  ''I  came  to  a  bit  on  the  way,  and 
there  was  a  light,  and  I  remember  a  huge  cave."  I 
knew  what  that  must  be  —  the  warehouse  of  the 
smugglers.   "Well,  and  here  we  are,"  he  ended  vaguely. 

But  Perdita  was  still  unaccounted  for.  I  had  seen 
her  go  down  in  the  storm  and  clamoring  waves;  and 
here  she  was  by  my  side. 

"Oh,  that 's  a  bit  odd,"  said  Norroy,  when  I  plied  a 
further  question.  "They  must  have  fetched  Miss  For- 
rest up  afterwards;  anyway  she  was  here  when  I  got 
my  senses  again." 

"I  must  have  lost  mine,"  said  Perdita,  softly.  "I 
remember  going  down,  and  a  huge  gulf  of  water  opening 
over  me,  and  then  I  don't  remember  any  more,  until  I 
was  conscious  of  being  carried  somewhere  in  the  dark. 
And  then  I  felt  a  sudden  shock,  and  I  found  I  was 
lying  on  a  cold  rocky  floor,  and  some  one  was  groan- 
ing near.  It  was  you,  dear,"  she  whispered  in  my 
ear. 

"Rum  thing  their  saving  you,"  said  Norroy. 

"But  I  don't  understand  it  all  yet,"  replied  Perdita. 
*^Who  are  they  .^" 

And  so  we  told  her  of  the  dwarf,  and  of  his  confeder- 
;ates,  of  our  struggle  in  the  darkness,  and  of  the  coppef 


Love  in  Death  287 

lead  in  the  bowels  of  the  cliff.    She  listened  silently^ 
and  when  I  had  done,  said,  "Then,  they  are  keeping 
you  here  till  the  case  is  over."   Swift  and  nimble  were 
my  dear  love's  wits  upon  this  opening  mystery. 
"That 's  it,"  said  Norroy. 

"And  they  won't  do  us  any  harm,"  continued  Per- 
dita.  "Because  it's  not  in  their  interest  to  do  more 
than  prevent  Sir  Gilbert  from  putting  in  an  appearance." 

"You  argue  like  a  book,  sweetheart,"  I  whispered. 

"And,  moreover,  they  wouldn't  have  saved  me  if 
they  had  wanted  to  do  us  any  harm." 

"By  Jove,  no,  no  more  they  would,"  said  Norroy^ 
cheerfully.    "We  're  looking  up." 

I  said  nothing.  There  was  another  explanation  of 
the  seeming  mercy  of  our  enemies.  If  Perdita  had  been 
allowed  to  go  and  had  escaped  the  sea,  she  would  have 
brought  down  a  new  expedition  upon  the  rogues.  Yet 
it  was  not  clear  that  they  had  any  interest  in  our  death. 
Of  course  Norroy's  evidence  was  sufficient  to  send  the 
dwarf  and  his  companion  to  prison;  but  they  were 
evidently  only  the  servants  of  the  conspiracy.  And 
there  was  no  real  connection  yet  traced  between  the 
prime  culprits  and  the  acts  of  violence  to  which  we  had 
been  subjected.  If  the  dwarf  and  his  comrade  vanished 
forever,  what  charge  would  lie  against  Naylor  or  Horne, 
who  had  merely  taken  advantage  of  the  rights  that  the 
law  allowed  them  ? 

Yet  the  mere  optimistic  statement  of  our  case  by 
Perdita  in  such  confident  tones  seemed  to  infuse  cheer- 
fulness into  the  atmosphere.  We  were  in  prison  again, 
but  there  were  mitigations  this  time.  We  had  proved 
that  it  was  possible  to  get  out,  and  our  situation  was 
known  now  to  our  friends  above.    I  discovered  this 


288 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


fact  from  Perdita,  who  had  told  Jackman  on  what 
mission  she  was  bound,  as  well  as  Miss  Fuller.  The 
latter  had  endeavored  to  dissuade  Perdita  from  the  at- 
tempt, urging  in  her  wisdom  that  the  task  was  rather  one 
for  men  alone.  But  my  Perdita  had  obstinately  run 
away  from  this  advice,  had  taken  the  bit  between  her 
teeth  and  bolted,  and  had  left  behind  her  doubtless 
now  an  alarm.  Moreover,  it  was  not  at  all  certain  that 
Hawes  had  perished,  or  had  been  taken  by  the  con- 
federates. And  for  all  these  reasons  we  were  justified 
in  looking  forward  to  our  ultimate  rescue. 

The  need  immediately  pressing  was  food  and  drink, 
certainly  for  Norroy  and  myself  who  had  been  long 
without  either.  This  matter  was  discussed  between 
us,  and  Norroy  volunteered  to  feel  his  way  round  the 
wall  so  as  to  discover  in  what  sort  of  place  we  were.  I 
warned  him  to  call  out  at  regular  intervals  so  that  we 
might  keep  him  in  touch  with  us,  and  then  he  departed. 

"  *  If  you  were  life,  my  darling. 
And  I  your  love  were  death,' 

I  should  be  content,"  I  said.  "I  want  nothing  now, 
not  even  life,  for  you  are  life  and  I  have  you.  Perdita, 
sweet,  did  you  see  me  watching  you,  hear  my  prayers 
as  you  stood  like  the  Spirit  of  Storm  in  the  prow.^  I 
prayed  for  your  safety.  I  know  not  why,  but  this  dark- 
ness is  full  of  light  to  me.  I  can  see  your  face,  can't  I, 
sweet  There  are  two  dove's  eyes,  alight  and  dewy, 
and  a  soft  mouth  that  is  a  bud,  a  slender  nose,  a  rain 
of  bronze  hair.  .  .  .  Ah,  how  its  fragrance  goes  down 
into  my  soul !  Were  you  wet  by  the  ruthless  sea, 
sweetheart  ?  And  did  your  beautiful  hair  toss  like  sea- 
weed in  the  foam  ?   If  I  come  upon  that  dwarf  I  will 


Love  in  Death 


289 


reward  him  with  vast  hoards  of  gold  instead  of  killing 
him  —  because  he  saved  you,  my  Loreley." 

She  pressed  close ;  I  put  my  arm  across  her  heart  and 
she  was  dripping  from  the  sea. 

''Sea  water,  child,  never  hurt  a  baby,"  I  said.  "But 
we  will  soon  strip  those  wet  garments  from  you  and 
clothe  you  in  shining  soft  vesture.  I  like  you  in  all 
colors,  dearest.  What  shall  I  buy  you  for  a  wedding- 
gown  ?" 

"A  man  does  n't  buy  the  wedding-gown,"  stammered 
Perdita. 

''Oh,  doesn't  he.^^  Well,  I  will,  you  see,  and  that 
makes  the  difference  between  a  man  and  me.  You  may 
think  me  an  ogre.  Miss  Forrest,  but  —  " 

"Hark!"  said  she,  "is  that  Sir  Gilbert?" 

I  called  to  him  and  was  answered. 

"Perdita,  you  are,  like  all  your  sex,  a  deceitful  little 
cat,  full  of  tricks.  You  knew  it  was  n't  Norroy.  Well, 
of  course,  I  '11  alter  all  that  when  we  are  safely 
married." 

"But  you  don't  know  if  we  shall  be,"  murmured  shy 
Perdita.    "You 've  never  asked  me." 

"I  apologize.  Miss  Forrest.  I 'm  very  sorry.  But  a 
previous  engagement  unfortunately  interfered  with  my 
proposal.  However,  I 'm  glad  you  did  not  wait  for  me 
to  propose,  and  I  beg  to  acknowledge  your  esteemed 
favor  containing  your  own  proposal  with  thanks  — 
the  same  is  receiving  consideration  and  will  receive 
answer  in  due  course  —  " 

"Oh!"  said  Perdita. 

"Please,  Perdita,  tell  me  what  you  will  do  directly 
we  are  released.  I  always  like  my  plans  laid  well  ahead. 
I  know  what  I 'm  going  to  do,  and  I  have  a  natural 

19 


290        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


curiosity  to  learn  what  you  will.  Personally,  I 'm  going 
to  be  married." 

"Who  —  to  whom.?^"  said  Perdita. 

"Oh,  just  a  beauty.  At  least,  critically  considered, 
I  don't  know  —  perhaps  —  well,  yes  —  if  she  had  a 
little  —  But,  anyway,  she  '11  do  for  me.  Her  name 
begins  with  a  P  because  she  is  pretty." 

"I  say,  Brabazon,"  Norroy's  voice  boomed  from  the 
rocks,  "here 's  a  go.    I  believe  I 've  found  —  "  \ 

"Where  are  you.^^"  I  called. 

"Over  here.  There's  the  mouth  of  another  cave 
here,  and  I  tumbled  over  something." 

I  rose,  helped  Perdita  to  her  feet,  and  with  my  arm 
about  her  groped  my  way  across  to  his  voice.  We 
passed  through  an  opening  and  I  kicked  something 
with  my  foot. 

"That's  it,"  said  Norroy,  excitedly.  "What  the 
devil  is  it.^"  I  stooped  and  felt.  It  was  a  box.  We 
groped  on  the  floor  for  some  minutes  patiently. 

"I 've  got  a  tin  of  some  sort,"  I  said. 

"Golly,  I've  got  a  bottle.  What  do  you  think?" 
said  Norroy. 

"It 's  the  larder!"  I  exclaimed. 

"The  larder  !"  said  both.  I  explained.  I  had  come 
across  the  larder  in  my  earlier  explorations. 

"This  is  all  right,"  said  Sir  Gilbert.  "Miss  Forrest, 
would  you  like  a  go  at  this  ?   It 's  bottled  beer !" 

His  tone  was  triumphant.  Perdita  declined  on  the 
ground  that  she  was  not  thirsty,  and  I  heard  the  gurgle 
down  Norroy's  throat.  We  sat  and  drank,  and  ate  from 
the  tin  which  we  opened  with  a  knife,  and  which 
contained  mutton. 

"Now  we  shan't  be  long,"  said  the  cheerful  baron et» 


Love  in  Death  291 


We  sat  and  talked,  and  our  spirits  were  amazing  for 
people  immured  in  Stygian  darkness,  and  beset  by  ob- 
durate and  unscrupulous  foes. 

"Anyhow,"  was  Norroy's  summing  up,  "we've  got 
possession  of  the  grub.  We  're  going  to  confound  their 
knavish  tricks.  And  what 's  more,  with  this  blessed 
mine  under  me  I 'm  not  going  to  lose  the  Castle.  I  '11 
stick  by  what 's  stuck  by  us  all  these  centuries.  I  shan't 
need  to  beg  of  my  Rivers  cousin,  the  little  manufact- 
uress." 

Perdita's  hand  was  in  mine  and  I  felt  it  jump. 
Rivers  !  What  was  Rivers  doing  in  my  mind  ?  I  sud- 
denly remembered.  The  letters  dropped  from  the 
burst  packet  had  been  addressed  to  Miss  Rivers. 

Norroy  was  talking  still,  but  I  did  not  hear  him.  My 
wits  were  busy.  Perdita's  hand  trembled  in  mine.  A 
strange  thought  came  into  my  head.  What  was  Miss 
Fuller  doing  with  letters  for  Miss  Rivers.^  Perdita 
tried  to  pull  her  hand  out  of  mine,  and  somehow  I 
guessed  —  somehow  I  knew.   I  held  her  hand  fast. 

"What,"  I  asked  slowly,  "is  the  name  of  your 
cousin?" 

"Name!"  There  was  a  pause.  Perdita  was  trem- 
bling all  over. 

"Is  it  Perdita  ?"  I  whispered  in  her  ear. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  said.  "Must  have  heard  it,  but 
I 've  never  seen  my  mother's  relations  —  governor 
quarreled  with  'em.  She 's  probably  a  decent  sort, 
high  cheekbones  and  big  features  and  all  that." 

"She's  not,"  I  cried.  "Norroy,  you  impertinent, 
blind  ass !  You 've  thrown  away  all  your  chances.  I 
can  tell  you  what  she 's  like.  She 's  the  most  lovely 
woman  that  walks  this  earth.   Her  eyes  —  " 


292        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"Don't,  don't,"  pleaded  Perdita  in  tears. 

**If  you  could  see  her  you  would  know,'*  I  said. 
**But  you  can't  because  it  is  dark,  and  your  eyes  have 
always  been  blind.   Perdita  !" 

"Eh,  what?"  said  Norroy. 

Perdita  was  weeping,  I  think,  but,  dear  heart,  I  did 
not  know  then  why  she  wept.  It  was  only  afterwards 
that  I  discovered  that  she  wept  for  foolish  shame.  In 
the  full  panoply  of  romantic  sentiment  she  had  come 
forth  to  see  this  unknown  cousin  in  disguise,  and  had 
fallen  in  love  with  a  —  nobody.  And  now  she  was 
ashamed  of  that  innocent  and  foolish  whim. 

"Shall  I  tell  him,  Perdita  ?"  I  asked  softly,  and  I  got 
no  answer.    But  I  kept  her  hand. 

"Your  cousin  is  going  to  be  my  wife,"  I  said  as 
softly. 

"Good  Lord  !"  ejaculated  Norroy.  "Why,  who  the 
Devil,  what.?" 

"Oh,  it  is  my  fault;  oh,  I  am  ashamed!"  cried 
Perdita,  burying  her  face  in  my  arm.  "I  shouldn't 
have  done  it.  I  only  wanted  to  see  —  How  did  you 
guess  ?    How  abominable  of  you  to  guess  ! " 

"It  was  a  packet  of  letters,"  I  explained,  "and  the 
solution  has  just  come  to  me." 

"Oh,  I  heard  —  it  was  too  bad  of  Isabel  —  I  was 
afraid  —  " 

"I  should  like  to  know  what  the  mischief  it  all 
means,"  said  dull  Sir  Gilbert. 

I  told  him,  and  he  said,  "Good  Lord!"  and  then 
after  a  moment  he  began  to  chuckle.  "It 's  a  rum  go," 
he  said.  "By  Jove,  it 's  a  sort  of  romance.  Are  you 
Miss  Rivers  then.  Miss  Forrest?  I  say,  what  am  I  to 
call  you,  cousin  .^^" 


Love  in  Death  293 


"You  can  go  on  calling  her  Miss  Forrest,"  I  said 
quickly.    "You  're  not  going  to  call  her  Perdita." 

"I  say,  Brabazon  !"  he  exclaimed,  and  then  the  situ- 
ation beat  him.  "Well,  I'm  damned!"  he  declared. 
"Fancy  you  being  the  little  Rivers  girl !" 

"She  is  not  little,  and  I  '11  ask  you  to  address  my 
future  wife  properly,"  I  said  with  dignity. 

"Well,  you  kept  it  pretty  dark,  both  of  you,  I  must 
say,"  said  Norroy,  paying  no  heed  to  this.  "I  suppose 
I  ought  to  call  you  cousin,  and  take  cousinly  privileges." 

"I  don't  like  that  word  privileges,"  I  said.  "I  think 
you 'd  better  go  away,  Norroy.   Go  to  your  Plutus." 

"What  beats  me  is  how  you  came  to  be  about  here, 
cousin,"  said  the  persistent  and  clumsy  Norroy, 

"That 's  nothing  to  do  with  you,"  I  declared,  as  I 
felt  Perdita  shiver.   "  She  came  on  a  sketching  tour." 

"Oh !"  He  thought  it  all  over,  and  either  decided  to 
let  it  pass,  or  was  derailed  by  a  side  track. 

"Is  Miss  Harvey  pretty  well.^"  he  inquired  politely. 
There  is  a  story  of  a  filibustering  Englishman  who 
marched  an  army  into  the  territory  of  a  friendly  power, 
was  encountered  by  its  forces,  and  engaged  in  battle. 
A  truce  having  been  arranged  to  discuss  the  terms  of 
surrender,  our  Englishman  met  the  enemy's  envoys 
with  the  offer  of  a  drink  and  the  clumsy,  inconsequent 
attempt  at  civility  of  "I  hope  we  haven't  knocked 
you  fellows  about  much." 

I  shall  always  think  of  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy  in  connec- 
tion with  that  filibuster.  He  was  self-centered  to  a 
fault,  yet  never  mislaid  his  manners ;  and  never  appre- 
ciating the  full  significance  of  things  he  thus  would 
shed  a  farcical  light  upon  the  most  tragic  situations. 
Yet  I  shall  always  think  of  him  as  something  heroic  in 


294        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


his  way.  Consider  what  length  of  time  he  had  endured 
in  this  darkness  and  with  these  privations,  and  admire 
the  way  he  maintained  his  sang-froid.  This  was  the 
more  noticeable  to  me  as  time  went  on,  and  my  own 
hopes  sank.  Of  course  I  said  nothing,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  did  my  best  to  cheer  Perdita,  but  I  do  not 
know  that  I  made  so  gallant,  an  effort  as  this  unimagina- 
tive Englishman.  He  must  have  refrained  with  diffi- 
culty from  his  native  candor,  and  from  thus  blurting 
out  our  predicament.  Instead,  he  rattled  on  foolishly 
about  horses  and  Monte  Carlo,  and  odd  meaningless 
adventures  he  had  had  here  and  there  and  everywhere. 
I  never  knew  more  pointless  stories  than  Norroy  told, 
and  I  even  came  to  wait  and  look  for  the  banality  of 
them  as  one  expects  the  point  and  crisis  of  an  ordinary 
tale.  They  meandered  like  a  stream  vaguely  in  differ- 
ent directions  for  some  time,  and  then  simply  disap- 
peared in  the  ground.  Still,  his  flow  kept  us  from 
thinking  of  our  own  case,  and  Perdita  was  interested  in 
his  having  been  to  Pompeii.  I  think  he  rode  off  on  to 
that  on  some  race-horse  with  an  Italian  name,  like  a 
true  conversationalist.  Perdita  inquired  Vvhat  Pompeii, 
un tombed,  was  like. 

"Jolly,"  said  Sir  Gilbert.  "Awfully  jolly,"  and  hur- 
ried on  as  a  lively  memory  occurred  to  him,  "and,  I 
say,  I  saw  a  chap  in  the  streets  there  stand  on  his  head 
and  shake  his  trousers  right  down  to  his  knee !  Look 
here,  cousin,  you  ought  to  visit  Pompeii,"  he  con- 
cluded with  avuncular  wisdom. 

"Perdita  is  going  with  me  when  I  go,"  I  said.  "Pray, 
address  your  remarks  to  me.  Sir  Gilbert  Norroy.  What, 
by  the  way,  did  you  say  you  were  going  to  do  when  we 
*got  out'  ?  "  I  asked  Perdita. 


Love  in  Death  295 


"I  did  n't  say  anything,"  said  she. 

**Well,  tell  the  kind  gentleman  now,"  I  enjoined. 

"You  don't  seem  to  realize,"  murmured  Perdita, 
"that  I  am  not  subject  to  your  orders." 

"I  always  begin  as  I  mean  to  go  on,"  I  told  her. 
"Some  people  enter  into  the  bonds  of  matrimony  with 
their  eyes  wilfully  shut.  I  insist  upon  yours  being  open, 
Perdita." 

"But  I  don't  happen  to  be  going  to  be  married,"  said 
Perdita. 

"Wha-at!"  I  gasped.  "Norroy,  is  this  the  way 
you  bring  up  your  cousin.^" 

"I  say,  I 'm  sorry  I  spoke  of  you  as  I  did,"  broke  in 
Sir  Gilbert  at  this  juncture.  He  had  been  thinking  it 
over,  "but  I  didn't  know,  you  know  —  about  the 
money,  I  mean." 

"It  did  n't  matter  at  all,"  said  Perdita,  quickly. 

"But  why  did  you  call  yourself  Miss  —  " 

"You 've  talked  too  long,"  I  interposed  hastily. 
"Go  to  sleep." 

"It  isn't  a  bad  idea,"  said  the  good-natured  fellow, 
"if  we  only  could.  They  may  come  in  time  to  wake 
us  up." 

We  had  that  beautiful  idea  to  drop  off  from;  but, 
alas,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  control  the  mind.  I  believe 
Norroy  went  to  sleep,  but  Perdita  did  not,  nor  I.  And 
the  silence  and  the  darkness  suddenly  began  to  oppress 
her.  She  grew  frightened,  and  cried  out  to  me;  and  I 
drew  her  nearer,  and  she  wept. 

"It  is  the  long  night,"  she  whispered.  "I  did  not 
think  I  was  such  a  coward.  Oh,  forgive  me!"  She 
gulped  back  her  tears  and  clung  to  me.  She  had  faced 
the  storm  and  the  water  with  brave  heart,  but  she  had 


296         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


succumbed  to  the  awful  sapping  of  these  silent  terrors. 
The  darkness  sat  round  about  us  in  league.  Perdita's 
tears  wet  my  cheek.  I  kept  her  close,  and  whispered 
to  her,  as  it  were  a  father  soothing  his  child. 

At  length  she  passed  into  slumber,  pillowed  against 
me,  but  I  lay  wide  awake,  staring  into  the  dark,  and 
hoping  —  hoping  — 

The  silence  was  punctuated  by  the  deep  breathing 
of  my  two  companions.  I  did  not  know  what  time  it- 
was,  but  I  guessed  that  it  was  night  again,  and  that  it 
had  been  four  and  twenty  hours  since  Perdita  had 
come  ashore.  I  lay,  with  all  my  senses  preternaturally 
alert,  looking  at  a  blankness  which  began  to  be  re- 
lieved with  gloomy  pictures.  Dark  figures  strove  in 
it  and  executed  grotesque  and  horrible  contortions. 
Whether  I  shut  my  eyes  or  opened  them  it  was  the 
same.  The  blackness  began  to  get  on  my  nerves  as  it 
had  upon  poor  Perdita's.  Thank  God,  she  was  sweetly 
asleep,  an  occasional  movement  only  witnessing  to  the 
perturbed  spirit. 

On  my  ears,  straining  in  the  deep  silence,  a  small 
sound  fell  and  I  turned  my  head.  It  was  like  a  mutter, 
interrupted  and  resumed  again.  And  on  that  there  was 
a  chink  as  of  a  pick  on  stone.  I  stirred,  listened,  gently 
and  softly  put  Perdita  from  me,  so  as  not  to  disturb  her, 
and  got  to  my  feet,  still  listening. 

A  regular  chink,  chink,  now  struck  on  my  ears,  and 
I  groped  along  the  wall  in  the  direction  from  whence 
it  came.  You  will  remember  the  twine,  so  fatally  di- 
verted from  its  use.  I  had,  from  a  sense  of  prudence, 
even  in  my  despair,  retained  the  balls  I  had  wound  up. 
And  now  they  came  in  useful  to  me.  I  tied  the  end  of 
a  ball  round  one  of  the  boxes  in  our  cell,  and  letting 


Love  in  Death  297 


out  the  string  followed  it.  I  had  all  along  resolved^ 
that  after  the  party  had  been  refreshed  by  rest  we 
should  make  once  more  a  determined  attack  on  the 
maze,  using  these  balls  as  the  means  of  getting  back  to 
our  base  of  supplies  in  the  event  of  failure.  But  I  found 
this  earlier  use  for  them.  The  noise  of  the  pick  on  stone, 
continuously  repeated,  guided  me,  and  I  made  my 
way  through  various  windings  of  the  passages  until  I 
heard  it  more  clearly.  There  was  now  no  mistake 
possible ;  it  was  the  obvious  noise  of  a  pickaxe. 

It  came  louder,  and  then  a  little  suffused  light  broke 
on  the  senses,  and  now  furtively  I  pushed  on,  until,, 
rounding  a  comer,  I  came  in  view  of  two  figures. 

The  blaze  of  the  lantern  by  them  dazzled  my  en- 
feebled eyes,  but  after  a  little  I  made  out  two  men,  — - 
one  the  dwarf  with  a  pick  in  his  hand,  wielding  it  with 
huge  arms  on  the  wall  before  him.  The  other  man  was 
evidently  the  lean,  dark  fisherman  from  the  Point.  He 
stood  by  and  watched,  and  occasionally  examined 
something  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 

I  now  thought  that  I  had  the  mystery  clear.  These 
were  two  of  the  men  in  the  secret  of  the  gang  employed 
to  prospect  the  ore,  and  doubtless  they  were  at  work 
here  tracing  the  lead  through  the  galleries.  Yet  my 
heart,  dismissing  their  errand,  rejoiced  at  the  new 
promise  of  rescue.  I  had  the  connections  with  our 
prison  cell  safe  behind  me,  and  if  I  dogged  the  tracks 
of  these  men  I  should  eventually  find  the  way  to  the 
light  of  the  sun.  It  was  only  necessary  for  me  to  keep 
hiddai  and  not  to  risk  discovery.  When  I  had  set  out 
on  my  rash  expedition  to  the  caves  I  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  arm  myself  with  a  small  revolver.  I  felt 
this  now  in  my  pocket  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  any/ 


298        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


emergency.  It  was  clear  we  were  dealing  with  un- 
scrupulous rogues,  and  I  was  ready  to  fight  to  the  end 
for  what  I  felt  was  our  last  chance.  I  stood  in  the  dark 
shadows  and  watched  and  waited. 

After  a  time  the  dwarf  ceased,  and  paused,  leaning 
on  the  haft  of  his  implement.  A  distant  murmur  now 
became  audible,  and  I  recognized  it  as  the  cry  of  the 
sea,  but  no  longer  was  it  like  the  travail  of  lost  souls. 
It  had,  on  the  contrary,  a  note  of  hope,  of  encourage- 
ment, of  triumph;  it  was  a  friendly  sound. 

"There 's  half  an  hour  before  the  tide,"  said  the  tall 
man. 

"It  will  take  less,"  said  the  dwarf,  grimly.  "I 'd 
best  go  a  bit  more  in." 

He  lifted  his  pickaxe  again,  and  struck,  detaching  a 
big  piece  from  the  wall. 

"That  should  be  enough,"  said  his  companion.  "It 
will  give  plenty  of  room." 

The  dwarf  leaned  on  his  pick.  "Damn  that  swab," 
he  said.   "'T  is  he  bringing  all  this  on  us." 

"Well,  maybe  they  '11  find  nothing,"  said  the  other, 
with  a  short  laugh.  "We  can't  afford  to  run  that 
risk." 

I  could  not  understand.  But  it  seemed  as  if  the  boat- 
man had  escaped  and  was  giving  our  enemies  trouble. 
Yet  what  else  did  their  talk  mean  ? 

A  few  more  blows  with  the  pickaxe  followed,  and 
then  the  fisherman  stooped  and  peered  down  into  the 
hole.    "That  will  do,"  said  he. 

"Ay,  I 've  seen  worse  blasts  than  that,"  said  the 
dwarf. 

The  two  men  bent  their  heads  together  over  the  hole, 
and  I  could  not  hear  their  exchanges.   Then  they  rose. 


Love  in  Death 


29^ 


"That  fixes  it,"  said  the  dwarf.  "We  'II  give  it  the 
five  minutes." 

In  my  anxiety  I  peered  out  of  my  black  corner,  but  I 
could  only  see  their  retreating  forms.  I  was  resolved 
to  keep  them  in  sight,  and  I  moved  forward.  One  of 
the  men  was  stooped  as  he  went  along,  as  if  he  manipu- 
lated something  on  the  floor. 

I  got  as  far  as  the  place  where  they  had  been  working, 
but,  though  I  cast  a  glance  at  the  hole,  it  was  now  in- 
volved in  gloom,  owing  to  the  receding  light.  I  went  on, 
and  suddenly  my  eye  was  caught  by  a  trail  on  the 
ground.  I  scrutinized  it,  and  then  bent  and  touched 
it.  The  men  were  twenty  feet  away,  round  a  bend  in 
the  passage. 

It  was  hard  and  continuous  to  my  fingers.  In  a  rush 
the  terrible  truth  came  upon  me.  It  was  a  blasting- 
fuse  and  they  were  designing  a  blast  of  dynamite ! 

With  that  discovery  the  purport  and  the  consequence& 
of  the  destined  explosion  flashed  on  me.  They  were 
engaged  in  sealing  up  the  caverns !  The  pursuit,  the 
hue  and  cry  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  had  pressed 
them  so  far  that  they  were  removing  all  trace  of  their 
nefarious  plot  and  their  wickedness,  and  cared  not  a 
rap  that  in  so  doing  they  were  dooming  to  a  horrible 
death  the  three  unfortunate  victims  of  their  conspiracy. 

Immediately,  in  the  phrase,  I  saw  red.  I  sped  down 
the  passage,  and  rushed  on  them  round  the  corner, 
drawing  my  revolver  from  my  pocket.  They  must 
have  heard  my  footsteps,  for  the  dwarf  had  his  pickaxe 
raised  to  strike.  Without  hesitation  I  fired  in  a  frenzy 
and  an  oath  followed.  Then  he  dashed  at  me,  and 
pulling  on  a  second  cartridge,  I  dodged.  The  edge  of 
his  weapon  took  my  shoulder,  knocking  me  down,  and 


300         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


the  reverberation  of  my  shot  raised  a  thousand  echoes 
from  the  corridor. 

"Quick,  quick,  —  "  An  obscene  oath  ensued.  I 
struggled  to  my  feet,  and,  the  pistol  having  dropped 
from  my  hands  in  the  fall,  grappled  with  the  dwarf. 
He  was  broad  of  figure,  and  seemed  immovable,  but  I 
strove  to  get  my  leg  between  his,  and  throw  him.  Alas, 
he  came  of  Cornish  stock,  and  he  flung  me  off  as  a  bull- 
dog would  a  terrier.  Then  he  stooped,  and,  seizing  me, 
tottered  w^th  me  in  his  arms  up  the  passage.  A  voice 
behind  us  followed  with  echoes  that  swallowed  up  the 
meaning  of  the  words.  Neither  he  nor  I  heeded.  I 
wrestled  and  struggled,  but  his  gorilla-like  arms  cir- 
cumscribed me,  and  at  last  we  fell  together  on  the 
floor. 

"Home!  Home!  Back!  Back!"  came  like  the 
voice  of  a  bull  from  behind.    "Back,  you  fool  !'* 

The  dwarf  disengaged  himself,  throwing  off  my  grip 
-with  a  final  effort,  and  turned  to  go.  He  sped  with 
antic  leaps  down  the  passage  in  the  twilight.  I  saw  his 
body  in  the  air  for  an  instant.  And  then  the  drums 
of  my  ears  were  almost  broken  with  a  terrific  roar, 
and  I  knew  nothing  more. 


CHAPTER  XXn 


THE  CIPHER 


'HEN  I  recovered  it  was  with  a  dull  pain  in  my 


▼  ▼  head,  and  a  strange  perforating  pain  in  my 
ears.  I  groped  about  me,  and  crawled  first  in  one  di- 
rection and  then  in  another.  Wherever  I  went  I  came 
up  against  rock,  and  huge  pieces  of  rock  littered  my 
way  as  I  crawled.  Then,  with  returning  wits,  I  re- 
membered the  string  and  began  to  feel  about  me.  I 
fancy  I  was  ten  minutes  before  I  found  this,  and  getting 
to  my  feet  followed  it  up.  Soon  I  ran  into  more  rocks j, 
through  which,  apparently,  the  twine  went.  But  by  dint 
of  patience  and  effort  I  at  last  found  a  hole  through 
which  I  squeezed  my  body,  picked  up  the  string  again^ 
and  pursued  it  through  a  clear  passage.  Thank  God^ 
at  least  the  road  to  the  cell  in  which  I  had  left  the  others 
remained  open. 

I  hauled  in  the  last  of  my  clue,  and  called : 
"Perdita!" 

Voices  answered  me.  They  were  safe !  But  the 
noise  of  the  explosion  had  rolled  over  them  like  thunder, 
and  they  were  in  great  distress,  having  discovered  my 
absa[ice.    I  told  my  story. 

"Sweetheart !"  I  said,  oblivious  of  Norroy's  presence^ 
and  I  took  her  in  my  arms.  "Sweetheart,  whatever 
befalls,  remember  that  I  love  you." 


S02 


The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


"And  I  you  !"  she  answered  back,  and  hung  on  me, 
and  wept  a  little  softly. 

"Better  luck  next  time,  old  man,"  said  Norroy,  with 
his  indomitable  cheerfulness. 

Ah,  if  I  could  but  think  there  was  any  next  time !  It 
is  true  we  had  provisions  which  might  last  us  some 
days,  and  that  the  air  in  those  chambers  might  suffice 
to  supply  us  with  life  for  some  time  longer.  But  what 
prospect  was  there  of  ultimate  rescue  ?  Nothing  seemed 
before  us  save  a  long  drawn-out  death.  After  a  little 
Norroy  and  I  resolved  to  make  excursions  in  sundry 
directions,  not  actuated  so  much  by  real  hope  of  finding 
a  way  out,  as  by  the  mere  necessity  of  doing  some- 
thing. We  made  use  of  the  string-balls,  and  for  some 
time  occupied  ourselves  with  going  to  and  fro.  But  a 
change  had  come  over  the  labyrinth.  It  seemed  to 
have  shnmk  materially  in  size  and  variety,  so  that  we 
constantly  were  brought  up  against  blind  walls,  and 
were  driven  to  other  directions.  The  secret  of  the 
maze  had  perhaps  been  simpler  than  I  had  thought, 
and  apparently  one  blast  had  sufficed  to  block  the 
entrance  to  the  interior.  This  looked  as  if,  after  all, 
there  was  only  one  true  exit  from  the  cliff -face;  and 
that  had  been  closed  by  the  debris  of  earth  and  rocks 
in  the  con\^lsion  of  the  explosion. 

We  returned  worn  out  to  the  cell  in  which  Perdita 
rested,  endeavoring  to  keep  a  brave  heart.  But  she 
broke  dovra  a  little  later,  and  sobbed  like  a  child,  cry- 
ing out  that  it  was  dark  and  she  could  not  bear  it; 
while  I  strove  to  comfort  and  solace  her,  and  Norroy 
sat  ejaculating  oaths  dully  in  the  darkness.  By  and  by 
she  composed  herself  under  my  ministrations,  her  sobs 
ceased,  and  she  listened  like  a  child,  as  she  had  cried 


The  Cipher 


SOS 


like  a  child,  to  a  story  I  had  begun  like  a  child  for  the 
benefit  of  my  audience.  It  was  the  tale  of  a  child 
wandering  in  a  lonely  forest,  and  unable  to  find  his 
way  out.  Profound  night  enwrapped  the  forest  and 
the  child  was  in  the  heart  of  it.  And  first  the  wolves 
came  out,  and  their  eyes  were  like  points  of  fire  in  the 
circumferent  darkness.  And  the  lonely  child  saw  them 
and  was  afraid." 

"Why  was  he  afraid  of  the  wolves?"  asked  Perdita,. 
"I  should  only  have  been  afraid  of  the  darkness." 

"He  was  afraid  of  the  wolves,  Perdita,  because  they 
were  strange  things  to  him.  This  child  was  not  afraid 
of  the  darkness.  He  knew  it  could  not  hurt  him. 
Night  is  benignant,  and  in  its  kindly  shadows  all  the 
hurts  and  ills  of  the  day  are  healed.  There  is  no  terror 
in  the  darkness  to  those  who  are  wise.  The  child  was. 
wise.  For  one  thing  he  knew  that  light  and  darkness 
are  but  figments  of  a  finite  mind,  differing  infinitesi- 
mally;  and  that  all  light  comes  from  within,  and  that 
the  soul  may  be  like  a  paradise  of  fairy  lights,  when  all 
is  night  without.  Give  me  your  hand,  Perdita.  I  will 
light  up  that  soul  of  yours.  See,  at  a  flash  it  leaps  into 
broad  day.  What  do  you  see  now?  Shut  your  eyes. 
Forget." 

"I  see  the  sun  on  the  Castle  gardens,"  said  Perdita, 
breathing  fast,  "and  the  rhododendrons  and  the  grow- 
ing Mary-lilies  and  the  sweet-william  in  Mrs.  Lane's 
garden,  and  below  the  estuary  and  sails  on  it  —  ah!" 
she  gulped  down  something. 

"Don't  be  afraid  of  the  wolves,"  I  whispered. 
"Don't  you  see  the  shore  beyond  and  the  light  on  the. 
woods?" 

"Yes,"  said  Perdita,  "and  the  clouds  big  in  heaven j. 


304        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


and  the  blue  and  —  oh,  I  cannot  bear  it!"  she  broke 
oflf. 

"Go  on  about  the  kid,"  said  Norroy.  "Seems  like  a 
sort  of  tale  I  heard  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"No,"  said  L  "It 's  time  for  lunch.  What  will  you 
have  for  lunch,  Perdita  ?  Sardines,  pate  de  foies  gras 
truffles,  salmi  of  duck  or  —  " 

I  persuaded  her  to  eat  a  little,  and  I  heard  the  gurgle 
of  Norroy's  bottle  —  I  laughed  low  and  long.  It  was 
so  funny  to  think  of  Norroy's  bottled  ale.  If  I  could 
only  hypnotize  Perdita  into  sleep ! 

"I  shut  my  eyes,"  I  said,  "and  I  see  a  shore  and  it  is 
rosy  with  dawn,  and  the  sun  goes  ever  higher,  and  the 
shore  gets  ever  brighter.   And  it  is  n't  far  away." 

"That 's  the  shore  we  never  reach ;  it  is  the  shore  we 
dream  of,"  said  Perdita,  in  a  low  voice. 

"Our  dreams  are  best,  Perdita,"  said  I. 

"Yes,  dreams  are  best,"  she  sighed  and  crept  closer. 
"You  once  said  I  was  cynical  about  ideals.  But  I 'm 
not  really.  I  believe  in  ideals.  I  am  glad  I  have  had 
ideals." 

Dreams  are  best !  And  only  dreams  were  left  for  us, 
all  else  should 

"...  become  first  a  peace  out  of  pain. 
Then  a  light,  then  thy  breast, 
O  thou  soul  of  my  soul  ..." 

On  Perdita's  breast  it  would  not  be  so  hard. 

"I  am  quite  happy  now,"  whispered  Perdita,  nestling 
nearer.  "I  don't  mind  now.  It  was  only  —  the  dark- 
ness. But  I  can  see  quite  plainly,  and  I  believe  in  that 
:shore  of  yours,  dearest." 

I  pressed  her  nearer  still,  for  my  heart  forbade  words. 


The  Cipher 


305 


Silence  fell.  .  .  .  Physical  and  emotional  exhaustion 
had  its  way  with  us,  and  we  passed  into  oblivion. 

A  hand  on  me  awoke  me. 

"I  hear  something,"  said  Perdita. 

I  was  wide  awake,  listening.  I,  too,  heard  something. 
It  was  like  a  tapping  of  a  hammer  on  stone.  I  aroused 
Norroy  and  we  all  three  listened.  Undoubtedly  it 
was  a  tapping,  low,  but  distinct,  and  as  if  at  no  great 
distance.  Quickly  we  fastened  the  string  again  to  its 
anchorage,  and  Norroy  and  I  moved  off  to  grope  our 
way  through  one  of  the  openings  nearest  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  sound.  I  had  gone  some  steps  when  a  hand 
touched  me,  and  then  felt  along  my  arm  and  seized  my 
fingers. 

"It  is  I.  Don't  leave  me.  Let  me  come  with  you. 
I  am  not  afraid,  dearest.  I  have  lost  all  fear.  But  I 
feel  strangely  excited.  Do  let  me  come." 

Of  course  I  let  her;  we  went  hand  in  hand,  as  I 
edged  forward,  through  the  partitions  of  the  rock. 

*'Hush;  stand  still,  Norroy.  Listen!" 

Yes,  the  sound  was  clearer  and  louder.  I  hastened 
on.  Perdita  tripped  and  would  have  fallen  had  I  not 
caught  her  in  my  arms.  Louder  and  clearer !  I  thought 
I  could  hear  the  noise  of  chips  falling  under  the  hammer. 
I  wheeled  round  a  black  corner  and  encountered  cold 
clammy  air  like  that  of  a  charnel  house.  It  seemed  to 
get  into  my  throat.  I  coughed  and  gasped.  Were  we 
to  be  poisoned  as  friends  were  breaking  through?  I 
raised  my  voice  and  shouted,  and  the  hollow  echoes 
streamed  backwards  and  forwards  along  the  passages, 
calling  and  ever  calling  mockingly,  and  with  increasing 
faintness  in  my  ears. 

Then  there  was  a  sudden  flare  on  the  hellish  dark- 
20 


806        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 

/ 

ness,  a  blinding  glare.  I  shouted  again,  Perdita  was 
dimly  visible  by  my  side,  stumbling  on.  The  voices 
flowed  along  to  us:  "Brabazon  !  Is  that  you  ?"  and  a 
shriller  voice,  "Is  Miss  Forrest  there?  And  Sir 
Gilbert?" 

In  another  moment  we  rushed  into  the  area  of  the 
lantern  and  stood  revealed. 

"Thank  God !"  said  Mr.  Toosey,  flashing  the  light 
on  us.    "Thank  God,  we  're  in  time." 

Miss  Harvey  went  off  into  wild  laughter  that  was 
half  hysterical,  and  seized  Perdita  by  the  arm  and 
kissed  her,  and  put  her  arm  in  mine,  and  shook  hands 
with  Norroy  all  over  again  and  again. 

Meanwhile  Toosey  was  rapidly  giving  me  a  brief 
explanation. 

"It 's  the  cipher,"  broke  in  Miss  Harvey.  "It  was 
Mr.  Toosey 's  cleverness.  He  found  it  out.  Oh,  my 
dear,  I 'm  so  glad  we  've  got  you  again.  We  thought 
you  were  drowned  when  Hawes  told  his  story.  Only 
we  could  n't  find  any  trace  of  you." 

"Is  Hawes  safe?"  asked  Perdita. 

"Yes,  yes;  he  got  ashore  and  thought  you 'd  gone; 
and  he  came  and  told  us  all.  And  we  resolved  to  try 
the  caves  again.  But  we  could  n't  get  in.  The  way 
was  all  choked  up." 

"The  scoundrels  must  have  blown  up  the  entrance," 
said  Toosey,  "when  they  found  we  were  on  their  tracks. 
But  no  one  knows  why  —  " 

Oh,  well,  we  should  straighten  out  the  tangle  directly 
and  in  good  time.  We  had  each  much  to  learn.  But 
for  the  moment  nothing  signified,  nothing  was  of  im- 
portance save  that  we  were  saved. 

Yet  it  was  impossible  not  to  learn  some  of  the  story 


The  Cipher 


307 


there  and  then ;  for  to  our  astonishment  we  discovered 
that  the  rescuing  party  had  gained  entrance  to  the  un- 
derground chambers  by  a  connection  with  the  cellars 
of  the  Castle. 

"It  was  the  cipher!"  again  declared  Christobel  ex- 
citedly. We  should  learn  in  time.  Now  it  was  neces- 
sary for  us  to  find  our  way  to  that  upper  air  and  light 
from  which  we  had  been  so  long  excluded,  and  which 
we  had  never  thought  to  breathe  and  see  again.  Mr. 
Toosey  had  broken  through  a  thin  wall  of  plaster  which 
had  been  erected  between  the  Castle  cellars  and  the 
top  of  the  caverns  —  no  doubt  some  time  after  the 
abandonment  by  the  Norroys  of  their  connection  with 
the  illicit  trade.  And  by  this  we  obtained  access  to  a 
passage  off  the  cellars,  and  ascended  by  the  aid  of  the 
lantern  a  flight  of  stone  steps.  At  the  top  of  these  we 
passed  through  a  hole  and  then  to  my  surprise,  I  dis- 
covered that  we  were  on  the  secret  stairway  in  the  wall 
leading  to  the  picture  gallery.  Five  minutes  afterwards 
we  were  in  the  morning-room,  with  the  full  tide  of  the 
bright  June  sunshine  rolling  in  at  the  open  door  and 
windows,  and  subject  to  the  tender  ministrations  of 
Jackman  and  his  wife  and  Miss  Fuller,  who  hung 
weepingly  on  Perdita.  Perdita  retired  with  Miss  Fuller 
and  Miss  Harvey,  and  I  went  to  the  window.  I  stood 
there  limply,  with  my  hand  on  the  sill,  for  some  time 
drinking  in  again  all  the  delights  of  life  and  light.  I 
could  not  speak.  My  spirit  fainted  for  its  very  full- 
ness. And  Norroy,  who  had  been  in  that  horrible 
prison  longer  than  I  — 

"I  say,  old  man,  I 'm  taking  some  of  your  whiskey 
gnd  soda,  do  you  mind?" 

I  dropped  into  a  chair  and  fell  to  laughing  weakly. 


SOS         The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


From  the  information  communicated  by  Toosey  and 
Miss  Harvey  at  a  subsequent  hour,  I  am  enabled 
to  give  this  resume  of  the  proceedings  during  our 
absence. 

Miss  Harvey  came  over  in  distress  on  the  same  even- 
ing that  Perdita  was  lost,  and  found  Miss  Fuller  in 
tears.  The  story  of  that  rash  and  noble  sacrifice  was 
related,  for  the  boatman,  Hawes,  had  got  back  with  his 
tragic  tale.  It  was  assumed  that  Perdita  had  perished, 
though  Miss  Harvey  steadfastly  and  stoutly  refused  to 
credit  it.  But  my  own  fate  was  in  greater  doubt,  for 
Perdita  had  declared  that  I  intended  to  explore  the 
caves.  It  was  thus  the  obvious- duty  of  the  party  to 
search  for  me  there  with  the  possible  chance  of  receiv- 
ing some  light  on  Perdita's  fate  and  Norroy's.  But  the 
report  bruited  about  the  small  neighborhood  must 
have  come  to  the  ears  of  the  conspirators,  and  precipi- 
tated their  murderous  action.  They  had  hoped  thus  to 
conceal  their  abominable  plans  and  to  dispose  of  all 
suspicions  forever.  The  caves  were  discovered  to  be 
blocked  and  the  explorers  returned  sadly,  wondering 
if  the  story  of  my  expedition  had  been  true,  and  divided 
as  to  the  advisability  of  pushing  the  exploration  further 
in  that  direction.   This  was  where  Mr.  Toosey  came  in. 

That  ingenious  spirit,  indomitable  after  a  hundred 
rebujffs,  had  pored  over  the  copy  of  the  Novum 
Organum,"  catching,  maybe,  some  instinctive  gleam  of 
the  truth  out  of  that  romantic  mind  of  his.  In  the  pur- 
suit of  his  investigations  he  had  spent  two  nights  in  the 
Castle,  having  been  frankly  accepted  by  the  Jackmans, 
who  had  a  strange  faith  in  him.  And,  finally,  at  three 
in  the  morning,  he  knocked  at  Mrs.  Lane's  door,  roused 
the  household,  which  included  Miss  Harvey  that  night. 


The  Cipher 


300 


and  unrolled  before  the  ladies  in  their  dressing-gown;^ 
his  wonderful  theory. 

It  was  Miss  Harvey  who  was  fired  by  it,  and  who 
insisted  that  there  and  then  they  should  go  up  to  the 
Castle.  Her  chauffeur  was  aroused,  and  the  car  took 
the  trio  up  the  hill.  Jackman  and  his  wife  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  this  forlorn  hope,  and  the  secret 
passage  was  tested.  You  will  recall  that  the  cipher 
ran  thus: 


3X3 
20  Staires 
R.  Wall. 


Toosey's  wild  imagination  hit  the  truth.  The  secret 
passage  was  connected  with  the  smuggling  caverns. 
Heaven  knows  what  inner  romantic  twist  in  Jackman's 
nature  had  made  that  staid  and  matter-of-fact  butler 
an  adherent  of  the  extravagant  evangelist.  Miss  Harvey 
declared  that  there  was  something  in  him  that  con- 
vinced her,  and  there  it  must  rest.  His  solution  was 
ingenious.  With  the  anxious  party  trailing  after  him 
he  had  descended  the  secret  stairs  twenty  steps.  Then 
on  the  right  wall  he  had  marked  out  his  square  of 
bricks,  and  had  counted  three  to  the  right,  and  then 
three  down,  thus  arriving  at  the  thirteenth  brick.  This 
he  had  insisted  on  having  removed  with  a  pick,  whea 


810        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


it  was  seen  that  a  hollow  opened  on  the  other  side. 
Excited  by  this  discovery  the  men  succeeded  in  en- 
larging the  hole  so  as  to  admit  of  the  passage  of  a  body, 
and  Toosey  passed  through.  His  investigations  now 
laid  bare  to  him  another  flight  of  stairs  in  the  wall, 
which  descended  to  the  level  of  the  cellars,  and  from 
which  access  to  these  was  possible  through  a  blocked 
doorway.  Jackman  had  broken  through  this,  and  then 
the  search  seemed  to  have  ended  in  failure.  But  Miss 
Harvey  who  had  followed  them,  casting  her  lantern  on 
the  other  side  of  the  passage,  had  seen  signs  of  a  second 
doorway.  This,  too,  had  been  destroyed,  and  the 
entrance  to  the  underground  galleries  had  been  thus 
opened.  In  our  prison  cell  we  had  lain  not  more  than 
thirty  or  forty  feet  away  from  the  foundations  of  the 
Castle ;  and  I  saw  now  how  it  was  that  I  had  been  dis- 
turbed by  the  noises  I  had  set  down  to  the  death  tick. 
The  channels  of  the  caverns  had  conveyed  the  sounds 
of  the  dwarf  and  his  companion  as  they  mined  the  ore 
in  the  upper  chambers. 

All  this  story  I  pieced  together  gradually,  and  when 
we  had  recovered  from  the  strain  of  our  incarceration. 
Immediately  after  that,  we  set  inquiries  going  in  the 
neighborhood,  inquiries  which  the  detective,  engaged 
by  Mrs.  Harvey,  arrived  just  in  time  to  superintend. 
A  break-down  gang  entered  the  cave  at  low  water,  and 
the  bodies  of  the  dwarf  and  his  companion  were  found 
in  the  ruins  with  which  they  would  have  involved  us. 
Later  I  solved  more  of  the  mystery.  The  fisherman, 
Dalling,  had  always  been  a  character  of  some  sus- 
picion at  the  Point ;  the  dwarf,  it  turned  out,  was  called 
Horne,  and  we  learned  that  he  had  a  brother  in  London 
who  had  ''got  on."   He  lived  at  the  group  of  cottages 


The  Cipher 


311 


on  the  cliff,  to  which  I  had  once  tracked  Naylor.  I 
could  not  doubt  that  this  Home,  who  was  a  practical 
miner  from  Cornwall,  had  made  the  discovery  of  ore 
in  the  caves,  and  had  communicated  with  his  brother, 
the  commission  agent.  Hence,  the  widespread  and 
elaborate  plot  to  oust  Norroy,  and  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  estate.  The  secret  out,  the  commission  agent 
disappeared,  and  Mr.  Naylor  was  not  heard  of  for 
some  time.  Though  we  took  legal  advice  it  was  not 
considered  that  we  had  evidence  to  establish  definitely 
the  connection  of  either  with  the  kidnapping  of 
Norroy,  or  the  blowing  up  of  the  caves.  Such  is  the 
law ! 

With  our  release  from  our  terrible  captivity  the  story 
should  fitly  end.  Yet  there  is  one  thing  more  to  chron- 
icle. Norroy  did  not  have  to  fight  his  case,  or  even  to 
go  into  court.  The  action  never  went  farther,  and  we 
assumed  that  Mr.  Naylor  was  afraid  that  we  possessed 
more  evidence  than  we  had.  Moreover,  if  the  case 
had  come  into  court  it  would  not  have  mattered ;  for 
at  Norroy  Castle  rules  Lady  Norroy,  late  of  New 
York. 

As  for  me,  I  have  nearly  finished  my  book,  but 
*^  Studies  in  Earth,"  will  probably  wait  some  time  ere  it 
sees  the  light.  I  have  other  work.  My  dear  Perdita 
has  overwhelmed  me  with  a  heap  of  financial  responsi- 
bilities, and  seems  glad  to  be  rid  of  them.  I  have  told 
her  that  she  married  me  under  false  pretences;  for  I 
had  wooed  and  loved  a  girl  whose  face  was  her  fortune, 
and  —  well,  I  happen  now  to  love  a  woman  who  is  of 
wealth  and  consequence  in  the  world.  Moreover,  we 
have  a  place  which  we  consider  is  much  superior  to  the 
Castle.*  It  may  not  be  so  old,  and  storied,  but  it  is  more 


312        The  Castle  by  the  Sea 


comfortable,  it  has  sweet  gardens,  and  is  within  sound 
of  the  challenging  sea^  - —  and  it  is  our  own. 

I  am  glad  Perdita  believed  in  that  shining  shore  of 
mine.  We  watch  it  often  from  behind  our  southern 
windows,  and  I  hope  we  shall  see  it  always  —  ev^ 
unto  the  end,  and  beyond. 


THE  END 


